His face is stoic, and he’s sitting in a chair as if he expected me to try to sneak out all along. He’d lost the suit jacket. Now he only wears his slacks and a button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal muscular forearms covered in ink.
I get it now. The business suit is just a cover. A pretty veneer to hide the true beast that hides within. Just that small expanse of tatted skin shows how wild and untamed this man really is.
How severely I underestimated him. In focusing on having him underestimate me, I’d done the very same to him.
Damn me.
I stand there, frozen, like a deer caught in headlights. Do I bolt? Make a run for it? Or play like I’m not trying to escape? Maybe play like I’m just venturing out to look for the kitchen?
One look into his knowing eyes, and I know he’ll never buy that. It’s as if he sees every thought flitting through my mind. Like he’s omnipotent or something.
Fuck it. If I’m going down, it won’t be without a fight. I’ve played meek so far, and look where that got me. He saw right through my bullshit.
I take off down the hallway at a sprint. I have no fucking clue where I’m going. I don’t know where the entrance is. All I know is I’m running for my life.
I don’t hear him behind me, but I feel him. I don’t even make it to the end of the hall before his arms encircle me from behind, dragging me back against the hard planes of his chest.
He’s nothing but solid muscle, a hard rock against my back. His heat is searing me from where he presses me flush against him, his arms strong and unyielding, holding me tight.
I wiggle as much as I can, trying to free myself, but it’s no use. Still, I refuse to sit still, my body writhing against him with everything in me.
“Stop it, Ava,” he orders, but I don’t listen. I can’t. I can’t just relinquish my freedom.
He hisses in a sharp breath before he growls out, “So help me god, princess, I’m warning you. If you don’t stop, I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
Something in his voice conveys to me the seriousness of his warning. As I finally calm myself and still in his arms, I finally realize what he’s talking about.
My face heats when I feel something very large and very hard pressing against the small of my back. Oh god, he’s turned on.
I feel so small in his hold. He’s breathing raggedly in my ear, every muscle in his body still taut from the chase. His masculine scent envelopes me, intoxicating me.
I feel an answering thrum deep in my core and feel wetness begin to pool at the apex of my thighs.
God, what is wrong with me? I should be horrified to feel his raging erection pressing into my back. My mind is, but my body couldn’t care less. It’s responding to him on a primal level, and I hate myself for it.
I don’t know how long we stand like that. Prey and predator, both perfectly still, teetering on the precipice of a cliff, until Gage finally loosens his hold on me.
“Are you going to try that again if I release you?” his deep voice is right in my ear, sending tingles up and down my spine.
I shake my head, “No. I got it out of my system.”
His arms drop from around me, and my body cries at the loss of his heat while my mind is relieved to be released from his intoxicating hold.
I turn around and look up into his eyes and gasp when I see them blazing down at me. They’re so bright, a vivid blue, swirling with emotions that I can’t even begin to dissect.
“Come on,” he orders me, motioning back to the room with his head.
I don’t move, frozen in place, still staring up into his eyes.
His jaw hardens as he clenches his teeth. “Don’t make me carry you, Ava.”
His tone snaps me into action, and with my back ramrod straight, I walk back into the luxurious room that is now my prison.
Now that my escape attempt has failed, I’m pissed. Pissed at him for leading me to believe I was smart enough to get away. Pissed at myself for being naive enough to really think it might be this simple. Pissed at daddy for whatever he did to get on this psycho’s radar.
I expect him to just sequester me off into my gilded cage before leaving me alone again. I expect him just to lock the door this time to keep me from getting out, so I stare at him in dismay when he glides into the room behind me, shutting the door.
“What are you doing?” I ask, my voice shaky.