Page 9 of Kept By the Kraken

His strong hands add smooth touches along my arms and my side before he secures me to the bedframe. The moment I test my restraints and realize I’m caught, my muscles unlock. It feels like diving off a dock into the weightlessness of the ocean.

The mountain man makes a deep rumble in his chest. The sound sends a shiver up my spine and my toes flex. I watch with lust as he straddles my hips. The sexual tension pulses between us, our eyes locked together. I squirm beneath him, the feel of his weight pressing me down and the ties holding me bound for him making heat pool in my belly.

He tenses and the air around him shifts, the mood turning sour. “I’m sorry.”

My stomach drops, but this time it isn’t from arousal. Something just went very wrong.

He looks away from me, the temperature in the room dropping.

The hair on my neck stands on end and goose bumps break out on my skin. I aim for calm, but my words come out shaky.“Hey, hey. It’s okay. I don’t mind getting kinky, but we should talk limits first.”

I yank on my restraints, but it’s no use. I wasn’t sure how this die would roll, but it’s landed on crawl out the window and run.

He beats me to it, rolling off the bed in one smooth motion and righting himself without turning to look at me. I yell for him to let me go, but he ignores it, closing the door so hard it rattles on the frame.

Dammit, Pen. Your curiosity is going to get you killed.

This time, I can’t tell if it’s my ex’s voice in my head or my own. I flip back against the bed, kicking and wrestling against my restraints. Either he needs a refresher in basic rules of bondage etiquette, or this handsome, sad stranger is holding me prisoner. Just what exactly did I capture in that picture that he wants so badly to hide?

Chapter 6

Bjorn

“Odin’s hairy balls,” I curse.

I’ve kidnapped a scientist. One that people will look for. She could expose all shifters to the human world. That is nothing compared to the reality that my mate is on the other side of that door, tied to a bed and left alone. My fist pummels through the plaster of the hallway wall.

“Fuck.”

How low I have fallen. I’ve captured my mate as though she’s raider’s spoils off to the flesh markets. Yet I cannot force myself to return to that room and untie her as I should.

My kraken’s smug satisfaction seeps through my veins. We have chased and captured our mate. He is ready to claim her, brand her with our marks, and fuck her until she grows large with our hatchling.

How the fuck am I going to get out of this? Capturing her was impulsive. Stupid. A temptation spurred on by the mate call. But beneath that raging desire to keep her close is the reality of our circumstances. She has proof that my kind exists, even if she doesn’t understand what she possesses.

She is dangerous. There is no way she didn’t feel the menace of my words. Did she run like a sane person faced with amonster? No, this woman opened her legs and invited me onto the bed. And I followed her, allowing myself to get lost in her mouth and the cradle of her hips as she rocked against me. Her arousal was thick in the air, her lips soft and sweet. The world faded; everything was lost to me but her. My cock ached with the need to fill her, to see the shape of her curves and to trace them with my lips. My Beast nearly took over, desperate to claim her as ours.

One afternoon in her presence, and I’m ready to forsake all my promises. The reminder rolls through my body like a brush fire, swallowing up dry land and propelling my body with rage. She is a temptress who has come to see me break my vows. Not to mention, she is a scientist. I can’t trust that she’ll keep her questions to herself. She’s too curious.

I don’t want her here, luring me in with her beautiful body and her reckless bravery. Any longer in her presence and I risk succumbing to my instincts. But I can’t simply let her go back to town. Until I figure out what to do, the human stays. And my Beast will heed my command.

His agitated rumble of discontent rolls up the back of my neck and settles as a tension-laced headache. I ignore it and go in search of my laptop.

The woman is right. I do hate technology, how it tracks and invades, sucking people in. But even for me, learning to navigate the modern human world has been necessary. It’s a trade-off that eases the burdens of staying hidden, but at the same time, it ups the risk of exposure.

Outside her door, I hesitate, attempting to shore up my resolve. It’s no use—she calls to me whether a door separates us or not. I open the door where she remains as I left her on the bed, her arms bound above her, laid out for me like a booby-trapped treasure. Her violet eyes bore into me, full of hot anger, but her scent has wilted with fear. It makes my stomach clenchand my body rigid. I hate the smell and loathe the idea of her fearing me. Yet it is a gift.

“Untie me. Let me go,” she demands, tugging against her restraints. Black tear marks run down her pale skin. Even with them, she is beautiful.

I harden my voice. “What university do you work for again?”

She shakes her head and jerks forward, yanking on the fabric. It doesn’t loosen, and she tries again. Her chest heaves, causing her breasts to push against her shirt. I look away, ashamed that my cock thickens at the sight amid the stink of her fear.

“Untie me, and I’ll tell you.”

My Beast tries to take me closer to my mate so I can cover her in my scent and wash away the rancid stench of her fear. I force myself to stay near the door.

“You will tell me now. I need to fix this mess by explaining to everyone you made a mistake. Until then, you’re staying here.”

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