Page 29

No one had called me by my real name in almost a decade, and it was so strange to hear it after all this time.

“Fuck,” I whispered.

He lifted his leg from over mine and then turned me easily onto my back, one arm beneath my shoulders to support me. He pulled me closer with his other arm over my thighs, hand gripping me just below my hip.

I pushed at his chest, and that only made him smile.

“Why were you using an alias? You running from something? Someone?” His eyes searched mine, pinging from one to the other and back again. All his attention was making me dizzy and more than a little overwhelmed.

“That’s none of your business,” I muttered. He kept staring at me, and just when I was about to ask him why he cared at all, he spoke again.

“Well, Whitney, let’s go change that.” He nodded at the bandage above my ear. “I want to put some more ointment on it.”

Why? Why the fuck did he care?

“I don’t—I can’t—” I broke eye contact, choosing to stare at the collar of his shirt instead.

“Come on,” he said, standing and helping to steady me on my own feet. My body was boneless, and my ass was on fire. Every movement made my clothes rub against my abused cheeks, bringing me right back to how his hands had felt.

And then he held out his hand, as if I’d touch that thing after what he’d just done.

I smacked it away. “I’m not going anywhere with you. I’m getting the fuck out of here.”

He raised his eyebrows and looked entirely unconvinced.

Well, fuck him, I didn’t have to convince him of anything. And I meant it, I was leaving. I couldn’t trust this guy for shit.

He’d kidnapped me, stolen my money, spent my money, made promises he probably wasn’t going to keep, goaded me, and then spanked me like a child when I expressed my disdain for his irritating, insulting ways.

I could do with a little less of him in my life.

I brushed off the seat of my pants, then regretted it when pain flared hot and strong down my ass and thighs. I sucked in air on a long hiss, and Court watched my face intently, his cat eyes clocking every single expression I was making like nothing was more important to him than my reactions.

Watching him warily, I took a step toward the door.

He didn’t move.

“I’m leaving,” I said again. “So don’t try and stop me.”

I expected him to deny me exit. I expected him to try and convince me to stay. I expected anything except what he actually said, which was an amused, “Okay.”

Something snapped inside me, a spark igniting into a fury that made my bones vibrate. “‘Okay’?” I said.

He shrugged, but his casual tone belied the intensity in his eyes and the promise in his words. “Sure. Let’s see how far you can get before I drag your ass back here and spank you until you’re crying.”

My mouth dropped open.

He stepped closer to me. “I don’t think you understand yet. I won’t let you leave. I told you before, but Thorne will be looking for you and he’s got eyes and ears everywhere. You aren’t safe unless you’re with me. Got it? So, yeah. Go. Run away, if that’s what you want. But I will find you, Whitney. That’s a promise.”

He advanced on me until he was crowding me, towering over me. He leaned down, running his nose along my cheek and humming deep in his chest. “I like it when you run,” he whispered. “I like it when you fight me. I like everything you do. So go ahead and run. I am dying to hunt you down.”

For the first time since I’d woken up cuffed to that bed, true fear crawled through me. He was actually unhinged—in a way that made him unpredictable and dangerous. He had all his screws loose, and for whatever reason, he’d set his sights on me.

And then he pressed his soft lips to my cheek.

A strangled sound came from the back of my throat, and I shoved at him, stepping away. My eyes were wide as I stared up at him, heart pounding furiously in my chest.

Any lightheartedness that was present had been sucked out of the room. There was a heaviness in the air, and as I stared into his eyes, I knew my only way out of all of this was to go with his flow. Swallowing hard, I dropped all pretense of leaving and asked, “So what do I have to do to get that money?”