Page 45 of Captive

Blake's one word adjective seems to fit just right. I raise my glass and wink at her with a silent toast. "Must be other qualities then," I say before gulping back the rest of the drink. Seems I'm going to needit.

"I'll say. Plenty of qualities." The man leans closer and put his hand against my back. I'm in a cloud of garlic, and his breath isn't his most repulsive feature. Eve walks away feeling apparently victorious with herinsult.

I reach back for another drink and hand him one too. With any luck, I can get him so drunk he'll spill club secrets. If Kane has dumped me into his parlor games, then I plan to make quick work of things. After all, I'm here to find actionable evidence and get out. If he's grown tired of me, then I've grown tired of him. Just as the silly, weightless thought coasts through my head, the large mahogany doors open and Kane steps into theroom.

Everyone goes on with their conversations and flirtatious skits, but his presence changes the atmosphere in the room. Shit, he's one of those guys, one of those people who can enter a crowded, active room and pull all the heat and energy toward him. Like a magnetic core in the earth, Kane is at one end of the room, but he is instantly the center of the party. Or is that just in mymind?

Kane's blue eyes seem to land directly on me. No sweep of the room or nod hello to anyone else. His intense gaze is directly on me. My nipples harden instantly as if he can see right through the dress. His jaw is set hard. It's obvious he's angry but that doesn't stop garlic breath from calling across the room tohim.

"Hey, Freestone, finally let this little ruby out of the treasure box. Think I'll be the first to break herin."

I'm frozen to the spot, too drawn in by his gaze to look away, but I sense the room has fallen noticeably silent. My garlic scented friend drops his hand from my back. The aroma lightens as he shufflesaway.

Two women approach Kane and engage him in a conversation. He speaks to the them, but his gaze is still riveted to me. I feel heat rising up my body along my throat and neck, filling my cheeks with a blush. My head is nearly clear of the nectar, but it seems the physical sensations are morepermanent.

I turn back to the bar and pick up a drink. Kane's arrival seems to have made me a sudden wallflower. No one approaches me. In fact, it seems a wide berth is being made just to avoid getting near me. My undercover mission for the night has flopped. I peek back over my shoulder to see if he's still engaged in his conversation, and I silently chastise myself for caring. One of the women sidles closer to him and is going out of her way to press her naked breasts against him. There is no damn way I should be jealous, yet all I can think is that he'll take her to bed tonight instead of me. And I'll be left to die in a cloud of garlic as the man pants and grunts over me on themattress.

Suddenly, the dress and ponytail work. I'm sixteen again and vying for the attention of the cutest boy at the dance. I walk to one of the men who still seems to be without a match for the night. He's tall, with ramrod straight posture and gray at the temples. He reminds me of Mr. Drucker, the high school chemistry teacher. I had a crush on the man with his pocket-sized periodic table and white lab coat. And his laugh. It was a great boominglaugh.

I add a little extra sway to my hips to make the skirt of the dress flip flirtatiously around my thighs. I don't need to look back to know my movement has caught Kane's eye. My pussy tingles at the thought of him watching me move toward another man. Only for a split second do I remind myself that I'm in an investigation and not a pawn in a wild sex game. The reality falls easily away and is replaced by the latter. I want to be a pawn in his game. My head is clear but Kane still has control over me. All my thoughts center around him. All my actions are to garner a reaction fromhim.

"Good evening. I'm Tawny," I say politely and then follow the greeting up with a none too discrete lick of my bottom lip. It seems the gesture has done its trick. His gaze drops directly to mymouth.

"Hello, I'm Chad." His hand is large and warm as it wraps around mine. "So you're the new girl?" His voice falls off on the last word and his attention is drawn to someone behindme.

"Yes, she is." Kane's voice sends an instant shiver through me. It is dry and sharp, letting me know he's not happy with me. "If you'll excuse us," he tells Chad. "Miss Smith was just about to leave." I've never heard him use my alias surname before. It reminds me of my dad using my middle name when telling me that I'd done something wrong. Kane doesn't take hold of my arm to lead me away. Instead, he loops his finger through the ring on my wristcuff.

My feet hit the floor fast and hard as Kane drags me along toward one of the guards. My heart is beating in my throat. His anger is palpable. "Please escort Miss Smith back to herroom."

"I thought I was invited to the party." I face him but his cold glare makes me turn away. When I get the courage to look back at him, I find that he's walking away. Beneath the white shirt, his shoulders are tight with tension. His arms are straight at their sides with hands balled infists.

Like a palace guard, my escort doesn't look down at me. I follow behind him through the party. Eve looks pleased to see me being led out of the festivities. I have no doubt that she has been watching the entire scene play out, including Kane leading me around by one of my leather shackles like I was his prisoner. I am his prisoner. And some dark part of me, a place that has been awakened by the nectar and by the man himself, is thrilled to be his captive. But it seems I may have just flirt teased my way out of the Lace Underground and out of his clutches. That might just be a good thing. The longer I stay here, under his control, the more I lose my grip on reality. The more he pulls me into his seductiveworld.

The guard is frighteningly big as I walk behind him down the narrow hallway to my bedroom. He says nothing as he pulls out his key card and unlocks my door. The door slams shut behindme.

I kick off my shoes and walk barefoot to the bed. I sit on the end of it and hug myself against the chills that have started to wrack my body. The earlier aspirin has worn off and my head and body ache from withdrawals. It has only been a week but the nectar is so strong it has my body in the grips ofaddiction.

I look back at the locked door and wonder who will walk through it next. I decide not to allow myself to come up with possible grim scenarios and solidify in my head that the worst and truly best thing that can happen is that he tells one of his oversized lackeys to drop me back on thestreets.

Only the next person to come through the door is not Blake or one of the guards. It'sKane.

31

Kane

My plan toget rid of her, to send her off for good lasted all of one minute. The rage that filled me just seeing her do nothing more than talk to another man assured me that I am my father's son. I have spent years trying to distance myself from the possibility but when she walked into my life, I knew my efforts had been invain.

The door pushes open. She is sitting on the foot of the bed holding herself. She is in the throes of withdrawal. This time the fear in her face is not accompanied by the insatiable lust. It is just fear. Cold fear and I'm the object of her terror. That does not stop me from marching into theroom.

I walk straight to the bathroom and to the supply of nectar. I return with the syringe. She doesn't fight me or turn away. Her body won't allow her mind to say no. Earlier I avoided touching her, using her leather cuff to lead her away from the leering stares of the club members. Now I take hold of her hand. Her body is trembling and her arm shakes, but she doesn't pull it from mygrasp.

"Why did you skip a dose?" I say as I stab the needle into her smoothskin.

"I wanted to be able to talk with the people at the party. I wanted to be clear headed when I met your friends." Her voice wavers back and forth like feathery strands of grass in the wind. "I refused it so don't be angry with Blake. It's myfault."

"Those aren't my friends. They are clients." I still haven't decided how I feel about Blake's decision not to give her the dose. At the moment, it's not important. She's the only thing that matters rightnow.

A deep shiver runs through her body as the nectar seeps into her bloodstream. A sigh of relief pushes from her lips as the drug warms her, eases her pains. I dedicated my professional life to creating the substance. Now it has repaid me with her. She ismine.

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