But it’s too late. The bathroom door swings open.
I haul the toilet cover back to swing, but he knocks it out of my hands before I get the change. He’s fast for such a big man.
He spins me around, securing me in a chokehold against his body.
“Still fighting, little warrior?” His voice is a purr in my ear. A rich, amused rumble, like he finds it adorable that I want to fight him. That I’m trying to free myself. “You’re earning yourself one hell of a punishment.”
That makes the flesh between my legs contract and squeeze. My belly flutters.
I have to face the fact that my hesitation–my reluctance to fight my way out of here–is what cost me the few precious seconds I lacked to launch my attack. I may be as ambivalent about Maykl as he is about me.
He bites my ear, hard enough to make me squirm. Heat floods my nether region. My nipples harden against his thin t-shirt. He eases his forearm away from my windpipe and allows his hand to settle over my breast, squeezing roughly.
Another bite to my shoulder.
This guy likes to use his teeth. I shouldn’t find that sexy.
It’s not sexy at all.
It’s…
Damn. Okay, it is hot. I never thought such a thing would turn me on, but it does.
He keeps one arm wrapped tightly around my waist but uses his other hand to whip the t-shirt off me. “You lost your clothing privileges,” he growls.
My heart patters against my chest. For some reason, I can’t come up with a single response. No words. No fight. My brain stalls completely.
“I’ll get cold,” I complain. It’s a weak argument against his dictate.
“I’ll turn up the heat.”
He folds my hands up behind my neck, which has the effect of lifting and separating my breasts.
“I…you…”
Seriously–why can’t I think of anything to say at all? I don’t usually turn into the deer in the headlights. Maykl rotates me slowly to face him. His gaze is dark, lids at half-mast as he takes in my naked form.
“I am thinking of many terrible things to do to you.” The low, growly threat makes it sound far more like he’s planning pleasure than pain.
Pleasure for himself, perhaps.
Arousal soaks my sex, as if preparing me for that sort of assault.
He turns me toward the door and walks me out. “Lie face down on the bed.” He releases me.
I bolt for the door. I’m completely naked and without any weapon, but if he thinks I’m going to go put myself in position for his punishment, he’s nuts.
I make it three steps before he catches me by the throat. He lifts me from my feet, cutting off my breath.
“One snap of this delicate neck would end your life,” he warns.
I know it’s a bluff because he sets me back on my feet and restores my breath before I even see stars.
“You’re testing my patience, Valkiriya.” In a series of swift moments, he pins my hands back behind my back–the position that makes my arms scream–and secures my wrists with a plastic zip tie. “I like to wrestle with you, but I desire a little more cooperation.”
“We don’t always get what we desire, do we?” I snark.
“Ah, but this time, I think I will.”
I ponder those words as he propels me back to the chair.
I dig my heels in. “No.”
The thought of returning to that particular prison makes me balk, but he pushes me back down and tapes my thighs down to the seat.
“You see? You could be lying in a soft bed right now. Instead, you chose to make things hard.”
I grit my teeth and glare, but he disappears from my sight. I hear him in the kitchen and when he returns, he brings more ice for my head and a glass of water that he presses to my lips. I drink deeply, thirsty from going all morning without anything to drink.
Maykl stands and holds the ice pack to the new bruise on my head. He doesn’t attempt conversation. He doesn’t seem angry or vengeful. Simply watchful.
It’s not until my eyelids start to droop and a deep relaxation washes over my limbs that I realize I’ve been drugged.
Chapter Nine
Maykl
My little warrior, fighting at every turn.
I watched her knock herself out tipping the chair over and nearly broke a leg sprinting up the steps to get to her. Thank God, she doesn’t seem too badly injured.
I’ll have to think of some other solution for keeping her prisoner. Something relatively comfortable but secure.
The fact that she’s naked now is doing screwy thing to my brain, though. I cut her free from the chair. I’m going to have to get a new roll of duct tape if I keep this up much longer. I throw her over my shoulder to carry my Valkyrie into the bedroom and lay her on the bed. She’s awake but clearly drugged. Her body is limp, her gaze unfocused and glassy.