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I swallowed hard. “I won’t…” The protest died in my throat when his silver eyes flashed in warning.
I didn’t dare lie and say I wouldn’t try to escape the moment his back was turned. Staying here willingly wasn’t an option, and I would do whatever I could to get out of this drug lord’s fortress, away from the small army of criminals who defended it.
“Stay,” he commanded, giving my waist a light squeeze to impress his order upon me. Warmth pulsed from his hands through my belly, gathering between my legs.
Before I could process my reaction, he stepped away, quickly crossing to the chest of drawers on the other side of the room.
My stomach dropped when I saw the rope coiled around his fist, and I scrambled back, nearly falling off the mattress in my haste to put distance between myself and the predator prowling toward me.
He was on me before I could get to my feet, his sure hands clasping my ankles and dragging me back to the center of the bed.
“This won’t hurt,” he said, completely calm and unaffected by my struggles. “Don’t fight me.”
His long fingers ensnared my wrists, pulling my arms behind my back. Rough hemp rope lashed around my forearms, binding them so that my wrists pressed together, my fingertips brushing my opposite elbows. The position wasn’t uncomfortable; it didn’t put any strain on my shoulders. But being immobilized and made helpless caused my panic to resurface.
He pressed his warm palm against the center of my chest, just like he’d done when he’d calmed my panic attack. His chest braced my back, his big arms enfolding me in a perverse hug from behind.
He wasn’t done restraining me. I wriggled in his firm hold, but the rope wrapped around my chest, binding my arms close to my torso. It wasn’t tight enough to cause me any discomfort, but an intense sense of vulnerability settled over me. I’d never been capable of fighting him, but now I’d lost any illusion of control.
He finished off the tie at my back, but he didn’t release me. His arms caged me in, that reassuring hand still settled over my racing heart, preventing it from beating right out of my chest.
“Breathe, dolcezza,” he urged, the low command rumbling over my neck. “You’re not hurt. You’re safe.”
A slightly mad laugh bubbled from my chest, and I jerked against the restraints. The rope shifted around me, holding me firm without biting into my flesh.
“So, is this what you do to your enemies?” I accused. Massimo had pretended to be a white knight, but he was a criminal, a killer. He’d bound me with ruthless efficiency, even if he had been careful not to hurt me.
His lips ghosted over the shell of my ear as he murmured, “Believe me, farfallina. This isn’t something I do with my enemies.”
Heat flashed beneath the surface of my skin, and my cheeks warmed at the implication. The way he was holding me was tender. Intimate.
Before I could process my body’s reaction to his nearness, he pulled away with a sigh.
“You have nothing to fear from me,” he promised. “This is for your own good.”
My maddened laugh was more giddy than bitter. I couldn’t process what was happening to me. I should’ve been terrified that a strange man was tying me up on a bed with him while I wore nothing but his shirt.
But I’d been through too much tonight, and my emotions were scrambled. Massimo had proven that he only wanted to protect me. Or maybe the prospect that my dark savior might violate me was simply too horrific for me to contemplate.
Within less than a minute, he’d bound my ankles together with a second length of rope, rendering me truly helpless. I’d be incapable of running now.
I couldn’t do anything but wriggle in protest as he lifted me up again, carrying me back into the bathroom with him. He carefully laid me down in the tub, so that the curve of the jacuzzi cradled my body. It was an odd position with my arms pinned to my back, but it wasn’t too uncomfortable.
“I’m going to take a shower,” he informed me. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”
“This isn’t necessary,” I tugged halfheartedly against the rope, but I was so tired that I couldn’t muster up much of a fight.
“I told you, I’m not letting you out of my sight. That means you’re staying right where I want you. Don’t pretend you wouldn’t have tried to run away as soon as I gave you an opportunity.”
I pressed my lips together, refusing to lie. It would be pointless, and it would only give him reason to rebuke me when he read the truth on my face: I would do anything to get away from him.
Still, terror didn’t grip my mind, not like it should. The knowledge that I had to escape from this criminal’s fortress was more rational than instinctive. I was too exhausted for my instincts to rule me, and the rope that bound me made struggling useless, anyway.
His big hand cupped my cheek, and my breath caught. He traced the line of my lower lip with his thumb, and my sensitive skin tingled at the tender contact.
“You’re safe with me, Evelyn. I’ll protect you. Let me.”
“Let me go,” I managed to whisper, but there was no fire behind my demand. He was resolute in his determination to keep me here, and there was currently nothing I could do to resist him.
