wood stove, the flames bright, illuminating her.
I nod. “And I will give your organization five million dollars.”
She tilts her head, disbelieving my words.
“I mean it. I live here, like this, by choice.”
“You are lying to me.”
I step toward her, unable to resist wrapping my arms around her tiny waist. She doesn’t resist. And I don’t know if that is because she is terrified or desperate like me.
“I may have kidnapped you, Justine, but I’m not a liar.”
“Then what are you, Ryder?”
I raise an eyebrow, the truth so close to escaping.
“Tell me,” she says, breathing hard. The rise and fall of her tits get me hard as hell, and damn, the idea of pulling away from her seems impossible. “Tell me what you really are.”
I pull her closer. The cabin I built with my own two hands is suddenly more than the off the grid homestead where I lay my head at night.
Suddenly it transforms into an escape from the real world, it becomes an impenetrable retreat.
It’s a destination and Justine and I are the only two people who have the map.
I look at her, hoping like hell she feels the same fucking way.
“You want to know who I really am?”
She nods, licking her lips.
“You want the truth, and nothing but the truth?” I ask.
She lowers her chin, raises her eyes. “So help me God.”
I smirk, willing to lay it all on the line. “I’m a man who is suddenly really fucking horny.”
Her face breaks into a smile. Her laughter lighter than her dark eyes and darker hair would suggest.
“I did not expect you to say that. Not with you telling me you wanted me to leave here a virgin.”
“Can’t both things be true?” I ask.
When she speaks again, the laughter is gone, and her voice is filled with a hushed sincerity. “But what if I don’t want them to be?”
“What do you want, Justine?”
“Two things: I wanted to lose my virginity tonight. And I wanted to raise money for HAHA.”
“I can’t sleep with you.” It kills me to say it, but it’s the truth.
“Why not?” she crosses her arms.
“Because I didn’t bring you here for that.”
Annoyance flashes across her face. “But I want to. You’ll kidnap me and deny me sex, pretty cruel.”
“It not that I don’t want to, but Justine…” I look in her wounded eyes and know I’m hurting her. “I don’t want you to wake up tomorrow and have any regrets.”
She huffs. “I went through a lot of pain getting myself waxed and ready for this night. You want that all to have been done in vain?”
“Woman, you are putting me in a tough spot.”
She licks her lips, reaches out her hand and presses it to my groin. My stiff cock is against her hand and damn, it feels so right.
“I don’t think it’s a tough spot. I think it’s a hard one,” she teases. “And Ryder, I’m a woman who goes after what she wants.”
I growl, my palm on her cheek, pulling her lips to mine. “What if I told you I’ll give you what you want?”
“Then I would say I forgive you for kidnapping me.”
My mouth is on hers, restraining myself no longer possible.
Why would I hold back when we can both have everything?
Chapter 8
Justine
His hand on my cheek may be calloused but his lips? They are so damn soft. I lean into the kiss, having both expected it and not thinking it would happen in a million years.
He kidnapped me hours ago and now his mouth is pressed against mine, and with my eyes closed, I give in to him.
And I vow to give him everything.
I don’t believe he has millions of dollars, but right now I don’t care what his bank account says. Hell, I’ll give HAHA five million in his honor because when his mouth opens and his tongue finds mine, I swear I’d give him every last cent to my name.
Some people might think that is giving up a lot for a single kiss but this isn’t just a kiss.
This is a spark. A flame. Something ignited deep inside.
I am burning up, and a greedy fire is catching inside me that can’t be quenched. It’s no longer a mere flicker of desire at my core. Ryder kisses me and I’m consumed.
“You sure?” he asks, his mouth on my ear.
I whimper against him, every hair on my body standing on end. “I’m not the sort of woman who changes her mind.”
“I can see that, you know what you want.”
“I do.”
I like that