Dark Fates (A Paranormal Anthology)(110)

It had to have windows. She didn’t care if it was twenty stories up; she’d throw a chair through the glass and climb out that way. She’d gone from the frying pan and right into the fire.

The bed depressed next to her, and, instead of leaving, he sprawled next to her and then his arm came across her middle. She was trapped. Her eyes flew open, and she slid a look sideways. His eyes were closed, and the dark tousle of his hair drifted over his forehead. The words he’d said to her whispered like a sensuous promise, and her palms itched to brush away that lock. Would it be soft or coarse? Were his muscles as hard as they looked?

Is he going to kill me?

Tears coated her throat, and she swallowed a cry. With agonizing slowness, she turned her head and tried to make sense of the room. It was different. The bed was in the wrong place, and it was darker with wood-paneled walls and bigger than the hotel room. Where was she? Oh, crap. He kidnapped me. Barry… Her brother would be worried when she didn’t come home. Fuck that. He’d be dead if she didn’t come home.

After stealing another glance at her captor, she froze, and her heart squeezed painfully. His eyes were open, and a lazy smile curved his lips. “Hello, Jubilee.”

She screamed and jerked backward, and, if his arm hadn’t tightened around her, she would have fallen right off the bed. The motion aggravated her shoulder, and her terror turned to pain.

Instantly alert, her captor rose and leaned over her, his dark eyes locked on her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Hurts.” It did more than hurt. It burned as though someone had shoved a hot poker into her shoulder joint.

He glared at her. No, at her shoulder and his teeth came together with a click. It was probably the pain muddling her thoughts, but she could have sworn he looked frustrated.

“I don’t have an OTC.” With a stretch, he snatched the fallen ice pack and pressed it to her shoulder, and she let out another wheezing scream. “Where do I find an OTC? I’ll get you one.”

Gasping at the pressure of the ice, she tried to catch her breath long enough to answer, and then his chest settled against hers, and electricity zapped the thought right out of her head. Her nipples stiffened at the expanse of hot muscle pressing up to them, and he was so hot, hotter still than the ice was cold on her shoulder.

“Jubilee.” Command laced through his voice, and the compulsion to obey him couldn’t be ignored. “Tell me where to find it, and I will get you some.”

She wanted to answer him. She really did. But…

“Don’t f*cking tell me what to do, and you weigh a ton. Get off.” No, his weight wasn’t remotely unpleasant. Her legs had spread of their own accord the moment he’d settled against her, and she wanted to wrap her arms around him.

I’m insane. Certifiable. Snapped. Gone to the loony bin.

His eyes narrowed. “Nice mouth.”

“Off,” she repeated before she gave into the urge to try and shed the sheet. The urge to rub up against him was so strong she could feel the dampness soaking her thighs. Clenching her ass muscles, she pushed up with her hips. She’d meant to encourage him to move, but all she succeeded in doing was encountering the thick length of his erection....

A moan escaped. From him or her, she wasn’t certain. He went utterly still, and Jubilee sucked in a noisy breath. He stared at her with the eyes of a predator, and she didn’t know whether to celebrate the heat scorching her or curl into a ball and whimper.

Bracing one hand against the bed, he levered his weight upward, and a fresh protest erupted. She didn’t want him gone. With a curious lack of caution, she reached with her uninjured arm and touched a hand to his chest. The rigid wall flexed under her fingertips, and he stilled again. Lashes dipping over his eyes, he continued to stare at her.

“How badly does it hurt, Jubilee?”

“A lot.” She licked her lips, suddenly uncertain of everything. Especially if she couldn’t trust her own body. “I’m sorry if I was rude.”

Why was she apologizing?

Maybe because I want to live.

He shrugged and adjusted the ice pack. “You’re in pain. I want to fix it for you.”

A dozen responses raced through her mind. Take me to a hospital. Let me go. Kiss me. The last one hitched the breath in her lungs. “Are you going to kill me?”

“That would solve the pain problem.” His far-too-brief smile did little to soften the dry response. “Though I am reluctant to use that method if we can do something else.”

Fuck me? Desire swept through her in a torrent. His nostrils flared, and he descended like a masculine blanket. With care, he traced gentle fingers over her cheek. “Look at me, Jubilee.” She wanted to drown in his voice. The bite of his cologne was overpowering, and, yet, she wanted to roll around in it.

“How are you doing that?” Flattening her palm against his chest, she pressed him away. It had about as much effect as a butterfly against a steam locomotive, but he paused.

“I could ask you the same question. You are a strange human.” There was that word again. The same one he’d said that on the phone. Human.

“You said you wouldn’t hurt me.” In the hotel room. With the dead men. He’d told her that. Another memory wiggled free. “And then you made me go to sleep. I didn’t want to, and you did it anyway. What are you?”