She took a step back and put a hand to her throat as if she could hide her rapid pulse from his gaze. Judging by the way he stared at her, he knew how unsettled she truly was. “Get out or I’ll scream.”
Devon laughed. “Scream away. No one is going to come to your rescue. Your boyfriend left and I bet your neighbors are used to hearing you scream.” The look her gave her on the tail end of his words made his meaning clear and she lifted her chin, ready to do battle with him.
She remembered she'd left her cell phone on the bedside table - she hadn't even brought the device out because the only people she thought she might call were Fawn and Carter, and she'd hear the phone ring from most rooms of the house. Of course, facing a possible attacker meant having the phone in her room wasn't helpful at all.
She stood frozen in place, unsure what to do. "What do you want?" she asked, her throat dry and her voice brittle.
"I want you." He met her eyes, a serious expression on his chiseled face. "I want you to be mine and only mine. No more dancing. I'll make sure you have everything you could ever dream of."
Except her own life, free will, or freedom. He'd keep her caged like a bird and expect her to sing. Kaitlyn wasn't interested in an empty life like that.
"I'm not going to be anyone's." Her heart hammered her ribs and she struggled to draw a breath. He moved toward her, crowding her space so much she backed up and leaned against the door, cowering back and shrinking to the door like she could sink through the wood and be outside, away from him.
"You will be mine." He put his hands on either side of her head, pinning her in place as he spoke in that low, threatening tone that made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end and fear to blossom through her gut. "And you will do everything I tell you to do, everything I want, and you'll be grateful."
She knew there was no talking him out of his delusion. “You can’t be here,” she said instead.
He laughed. "I can be anywhere I want. Haven't you learned the rules don't apply to people like me?"
His face hovered inches from her lips and she prayed he wouldn't kiss her. "You're going to come with me. And if you don't come willingly, I'll knock you out and take you anyway... except you won't know what happens while you're sleeping."
His ugly meaning couldn't be clearer and she didn't want to risk that he meant the threat. So, she nodded. "I'll go willingly." If he planned on killing her, he'd just do so. After all, he'd pretty much told her he could kill her and get away with it.
Clearly, he had other intentions.
Still, what other option did she have? He was stronger than her, bigger than her, heavier than her - he could overpower her without even breathing hard and that might trigger him to harm her. Maybe if she just went along with whatever he said, she'd be safe.
When she woke up beside Carter that morning, she never dreamed she'd wind up kidnapped by her deranged stalker.
"I don't want to hurt you, Kaitlyn. I just want you to give me a chance." Devon's heartfelt words only increased the alarm bells ringing in her head.
He lowered one hand from the wall beside her head to her face. Frozen, she couldn't even turn away like she wanted to as his gaze traced her lower lip, then met her eyes.
He brushed his thumb across her lower lip. "I'd never hurt you."
"I don't believe you." Didn't he realize that forcing his way into her home and kidnapping her was a form of abuse that would forever mess with her head? Didn't he understand he was hurting her right now? His intentions didn't matter - his actions did.
"I won't hurt a woman." He seemed to believe the words and she wondered how much more blind he could be.
She didn't believe him, not for a moment. He'd already proven he couldn't be trusted. He'd shown her he'd never respect her wishes and if he was desperate enough to hold her against her will, what would he do when he learned she couldn't be convinced to be with him?
His gaze darted back and forth between hers as his body heat pressed in too close to her flesh for comfort. She could smell his expensive, spicy cologne and wished he'd at least give her breathing room.
"I know you don't trust me. But you have to. I need you to trust me." He leaned in closer until his lips were mere inches from her ear. "I can't help you get your life on track if you don't. And I'm going to help you live the life you've been dreaming of."
His telling statement told her more than she'd known before about his intentions and thoughts. He thought all she cared about was money, which he could offer. In his mind, he had what she needed to be happy. Too bad he had her all wrong.
"I don't need your help. I'm on track to get myself where I want to be." Kaitlyn's defenses were sky high, but she felt she was making progress even as her fear morphed into anger. Did he think she needed rescuing? Did he think she was too weak to do this herself?
"The hell you don't," he shot back. "You think you're doing just fine on your own. But you aren't. You're a fucking mess. You're pushing everyone away who can help you and you are letting trash guys into your life. You know that Carter only bought a date with you to make me lose a bet and a lot of money, right?"
Stunned, Kaitlyn stared at Devon, as tears stung in her eyes. He was so sincere, so genuine – but she didn't believe a word he was saying. She couldn't. Carter liked her, wanted to be with her, was taking things slow to not ruin any future with her...
How did she fall for that bullshit?
"I wanted to be with you, I wanted to help you. But he knew that. And he took you away from me to win a bet." Devon pulled away and began to pace her kitchen, clearly upset as he shoved a hand through his hair. "He's not the nice person you think he is. He's just like me, except he's not going to be honest with you about what he wants."
He stopped pacing to stare at her. "Unless he told you...?"