Abducted. Samantha Keith

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ quickly.” Her eyes closed in response.

      Best to avoid provoking a snappy response from her. Her slumber was a welcome reprieve. He went over to the fireplace to toss in some logs. He had a fire started in minutes, the flames warm as they licked around the wood. He stretched out on his bed and stared at the ceiling. Her soft, even breathing sounded from across the room, and again he wondered what in the hell he was doing. A glance at his watch told him it was after three in the morning. Fatigue hummed through his muscles. The waves had been strong, and fighting against another person at the same time had been damn hard and mentally draining. In a few minutes, he drifted off to sleep.

      When he woke, the air was freezing. A chill made him yank the covers up. A strange, rattling sound froze him. His senses prickled. He threw back his covers and got to his feet. As he got closer, he was able to identify the sound: chattering teeth.

      Goddammit. She was probably on the verge of hypothermia. He dropped to sit on the bed beside her. His hands ran over the bundle of wet blankets.

      “Lana, wake up.” She stirred and pulled her body into a tighter ball. A whimper broke through her parted lips. A cold sweat broke out on his brow. He never should have let her fall asleep in wet clothes.

      A cold draft blasted in from the old window beside her. He freed her from the handcuffs and wet blanket she clung to and sat her up on the edge of the bed.

      “Go away.” She shoved at him.

      Her fingers were as cold as icicles.

      “Enough of this. We need to get you warm.” She didn’t lift her head to look at him, but he took her silence for as much of an agreement as he was going to get. Grasping the hem of her shirt, he lifted it over her head.

      He didn’t want to look—tried not to—but the moonlight beamed in through the window, illuminating her creamy naked skin. Her delicate pink nipples were taut, her hair wild around her porcelain face. God, she gave him a hard-on like nothing he’d ever experienced.

      Her hands clasped to her chest, her chin tilted up to see his face.

      “Sorry.” He grasped the back of his own shirt behind his neck and pulled it over his head. It was warm from his body heat, and long-sleeved. He tugged it over her head, covering her nakedness. She fit her arms through the sleeves. “Stand up, please.”

      She rose to her feet. Her knees wobbled beneath her. He rested her hands on his shoulders to steady her as he leaned forward, grabbed the waistband of her sopping wet pajama shorts, and pulled them down her legs. His shirt covered her to mid-thigh, shielding his view. Her fingernails gripped into his shoulders, either to balance herself or from unease, he wasn’t sure. Her knees knocked, and her breath sucked in sharply around the clattering of her teeth. He cursed.

      “C’mon, you can’t sleep in this bed now, it’s soaked.” Not waiting for her to move, he scooped her up in his arms and deposited her in the center of the warm bed he had vacated minutes before. He went to the fireplace to restart the fire. He set the logs up to ensure longer burning time. When he finished, he turned back toward the bed. His insides clenched at the sight of her in his bed. Lana lay curled tightly, her cheek cushioned next to her slim hand. She hadn’t even pulled the covers up before she passed out. Her sexy legs were bent at the knees, her feet kicked out onto his side of the bed. He rubbed the back of his neck. There was no help for it. She was far too cold, and he wasn’t going to let her freeze to death alone in the bed. The fire wouldn’t last all night.

      Not bothering to find another shirt, he climbed into the bed beside her and tucked the blankets up to her chin. He inched his body closer until they were touching. She moaned and curled closer to his heat.

      Not in his wildest imagination had he imagined “cuddling” with a woman he hadn’t just banged—one he had kidnapped, as a matter of fact. Gradually her shivers subsided and she slipped into a peaceful sleep. The orange glow from the fire danced shadows over her face, and her soft lips parted. Her cheeks were slightly rosy from warmth, and her hair was strewn across the pillow.

      His heart constricted. This might be his most difficult mission yet.

      Chapter 6

      Her body sank into a soft mattress, surrounded by blankets and warmth. A lead weight pressed down on her eyelids. She struggled to open them. A yawn escaped her lips as she stretched her legs out. Her body ached.

      Why am I so sore?

      The blankets piled in front of her face, blocking her view of the room. She stretched out her arm, and the sheets fell away. A large, brawny hand lay splayed near her face.

      She gasped. Her blood pumped wildly through her veins. She looked around in search of the owner. The hand was attached to a long, equally brawny, muscular arm, which was draped lazily around her. Her back was curled into someone, his legs drawn up so her bottom was against his thighs. She scooted out of his grasp.

      The kidnapper!

      She let out a scream that reverberated off the walls. He jumped up as if he’d been shot, and his head came inches away from bashing into hers. She shrieked again as his eyes found hers, and she kicked him as hard as she could between the legs. He yelped and keeled forward, his hand clasping his injured member. She dove for the edge of the bed. His hand snatched her leg. He had her trapped.

      “Let go!” Her fists came down to batter him anywhere she could reach: head, shoulders, back.

      “Dammit, stop!” he bellowed, and rose from his bent position to grab her arms. Panic strangled her throat. She swallowed another scream. Had he raped her? She couldn’t remember! Had she willingly slept with him?

      No. No way…

      “Let me go, let me go!” She threw her body backward to try to break his hold. He held tighter. She ended up on her back with him on his knees above her, her wrists tethered together by his fingers. His eyes were stormy, his face clenched. His fierce scowl darkened the sheath of stubble on his jaw. He had her pinned. Images of the things he could do to her with sickening ease whizzed through her mind. No. She wouldn’t let him. She kicked him in the stomach like a madwoman. Her efforts were futile.

      “I would quit kicking like that if I were you. You aren’t wearing any underwear.” The corner of his mouth turned up at her smugly, revealing even white teeth. Amusement laced his voice. The shirt she wore was bunched around her hips. Her feet rested against the hard wall of his stomach, giving him a clear view. His eyes never left her face. She froze. His hands still held her wrists together between them.

      She inhaled sharply.

      “You,” she said. The events of last night hit her with the force of a tornado. His grin waned and his hold loosened. She scrambled to her knees to face him, tugging the shirt as far down as it would go.

      The bastard had taken her from her bed last night. The sick sonofabitch…

      “What about me?” He slid off the bed and picked a shirt out from the duffel bag on the floor, his back to her, a back that was thick and layered with muscles that flexed when he pulled the shirt over his head and down his body. She swallowed over a lump in her throat. Light gray sweatpants hung loosely at his hips. Good God, he was hot.

      He turned to face her as he rounded the bed, a mischievous grin still slanting his mouth. That telltale smirk churned her stomach into knots.

      “Y–You kidnapped me.” СКАЧАТЬ