I’m one hundred percent sure I want nothing to do with his neighborhood.
“Who are you?” I should ask what he’s doing kidnapping me, but we’ll get to that in a moment.
“You don’t remember me, princess?”
Gah, the way he says princess makes me want to hurl.
“Let me up.” I push against him and I’m surprised when he lets me go. I scoot over, placing distance between us. He simply stares at me and that creepy smile of his grows wider.
A quick check of my surroundings does nothing to ease my fear. There’s nowhere to go. No place to hide. I’m in the back row of an SUV. Two massive men sit in the bench seat in front of me. Creepy Mr. Rogers sits beside me. And there’s a driver. Also, male. Also, huge.
What is it with all these massively huge men?
Muscle. That’s what they are. I take a look at my dress, not in the least surprised that it’s the one I helped the man beside me pick out for “his woman.” His words come back to me, and I can’t believe I missed it.
I need to buy a dress for my… For a special woman.
Tonight’s a surprise.
I plan on tying her to me tonight.
I’ve been chasing her for about a year now.
Wait? A year? That makes no sense. I mean, I get if he’s been after me since my abduction in Santa Monica, but a year? That means he knows me from before; from when I was a slave to a man called Snowden.
I don’t remember being lent out to this man. I know the face of every bastard who ever took me against my will. This is not one of them. I take a moment to study him and make no secret of the way I take him in.
“You don’t remember me, do you?” He stretches his arm over the back of the seat and gives me a come-hither gesture with his free hand. I look at where he wants me to go and give a shake of my head.
No way am I cozying up to you, buddy.
The expression on his face twists. “Now, is that the way to behave?” He taps the spot beside him. “And after I’ve gone to the trouble to buy you that pretty dress? It looks amazing on you, by the way.” His gaze sweeps to my bare legs and bare feet.
I’m not even going to think about how I got out of my clothes and into this dress.
He pats the spot beside him again. “Come now. Sit beside your daddy. I’m going to tell you how I’m going to be taking great care of you.”
Daddy?
I just vomited in the back of my mouth. Men with daddy/daughter fantasies are the worst.
“You’re not my daddy.”
His eyes pinch. “Well, that’s a decision you’ll have to make now, isn’t it, princess?”
“Huh?”
“Would you rather I be your daddy and take really good care of you, or…” I’m pretty sure I’m not going to like whatever it is he’s going to say next. He certainly gives me enough time to think about it. “Do you prefer Master?” His lips twist into a snarl. “I have no problem tying you up and shoving you in a cage. A bit of fight can be fun, but I suggest we start off on a different foot.”
“And what foot would that be?”
“A lovely little princess behaving like a doll.”
Fuck. Now we’re into the living doll fantasy. Whacked in the head does not do this man’s crazy justice. But I’m not dumb. And I’ve played this game before. It twists my stomach, but playing the young little girl kept me alive for four years on the street. That sour taste in the back of my mouth returns.
I take a moment, weighing all my options, and I must say they are lacking. But for the first time in my life, I’m not alone. All I need is to buy time.
Time for Griff to find me.
Besides, if I’m too eager, Creepy Mr. Rogers will suspect something’s up. I lift my bound hands to my mouth and pretend that I’m wiping my cheeks. His hawkish gaze follows my every move.
“Oh, don’t worry. Your friends won’t be troubling us.”
“My friends?”
“Yes, darling. Those men who think to keep you from me.” He points to my wrist. “I’m well aware of the tracking chips they put on you. That’s why we stripped you down and removed anything that might be a bother.”
A bother? To him maybe, but not to me.
“Who