I glance over at my own property and my hands clench into fists.
Four years. Four freaking years I struggled at college, spending days on projects that took other students mere hours. I was so damn proud of my degree when I walked across the stage. My parents weren’t there, which was expected. It made me stand even taller, knowing I did it without their support.
And now? It’s gone. It’s all gone.
Not just the farm, either. I’m going to lose my best friend, my home, my career aspirations, all to the same guy.
I feel like an idiot, and yet all I want to do is curl up in Kai’s lap and have him tell me everything is going to be okay.
Kai parks outside of his place, and I lunge for the handle. I’ll leave my luggage and whatever else. I just need to get to my car and get away from him. I need time to think. My mind is racing, and I know anything I say right now is only going to make it worse.
“Oakley!” Kai shouts as I scramble out of his truck and race to my car.
I’m digging for my keys, steps away from freedom when his strong arms wrap around me, and I’m hauled back against his chest.
“Let me go!” I shout, trying to wiggle out of his hold.
“Stop, baby girl. You’re going to hurt yourself,” he tells me, but I only fight harder at his words.
“Put me down!” I scream, and his hold on me tightens.
“Told you I’m not letting you go. Never again. You’re my heart.”
“Some way to treat your heart,” I sneer. Even as the words fall from my lips, I regret them. I’m being a brat, but I can’t help it. Everything is crashing down around me and I don’t know who I can trust. Even worse, the one person I would normally talk to about all of this is Clara.
Loneliness floods through me, a deep, dark kind of sadness that I’m scared of.Will I always be alone?
“I didn’t know, okay?” Kai says, more softly this time. “I swear, Oakley. I didn’t know that you wanted it.”
That makes me pause. I know he didn’t. We never really talked about future plans, even when we were kids because I didn’t want to hear about a future that might have included a wife for him. One that wasn’t me.
Kai gently turns me around in his arms so we’re face to face. He never lets go of me, though. The whole time, he has his hands clamped down on my hips, anchoring me in place.
“Your parents made it seem like they were done,” he continues. “They seemed desperate to sell, actually. I thought I was helping everyone out.”
“Why would they be desperate to sell?” I ask him, my voice tight with overwhelming emotion.
“I don’t know. I didn’t ask, and they didn’t say. It was just a vibe that I got.”
I wiggle in his embrace, but he doesn’t let me go. In fact, he hoists me up, tossing me over his shoulder before I even realize what’s happening.
I squeal in surprise as the bastard walks up his porch and into his house.
“Stop!” I yell when he kicks the front door shut behind us and heads up the stairs. “I mean it!”
“Yeah, yeah,” he grumbles, clamping an arm around my thighs and securing me closer to him.
I swear steam is coming out of my ears as he carries me over to the bed and pins me to the mattress. I watch as he undoes his belt and pulls it through the loops. Before I get a chance to question him, he’s wrapping the belt around my wrist and tying me to his headboard.
“Are you crazy?” I shout. It doesn’t hurt, I’m just shocked.
As soon as he lets go of the belt, I reach for it, trying to undo it, but he’s faster. Kai grabs another belt from on top of his dresser and grabs my other wrist, tying it to the other side of the headboard.
“Seriously?” I spit out at him.
“I was the top roper at the county fair all throughout high school,” he reminds me. I glare at him, and flip him off but I’m not sure he can tell with my hands tied to the headboard.
“I am literally going to kill you,” I snarl. “This is ridiculous. Are you actually kidnapping me right now?