Page 15 of Unresolved

I blew out a slow breath.I’d been expecting him to rip off my clothes and take me against my will.So what wasthis?

Was he just going to leave me here alone to slowly rot?

I’d go stir crazy!

What, do you want him to fuck you now and get it over with?

Was it terrible that I did?I hated not knowing what was going to happen next.I hated waiting for the unexpected.The only thing I knew for sure was that hewouldtake my body.It was just a question of when.

I wasted hours watching the shadows grow as they slowly crawled across the floorboards.My eyelids finally fluttered and fully closed, darkness then descending in a rush.

I stood at the traffic lights with a folder of my precious artworks clutched in one hand, my cell in my other.The pedestrian signal flicked towalkjust as my phone rang.I stepped across the road with dozens of other people, juggling my folder as I answered the call.

My phone slipped from my grasp and I fumbled to keep a hold of it even as I misstepped, slamming into someone coming from the other direction.Oomph.I somehow clamped hold of my phone even as my folder dropped and fell open on the ground, a dozen acrylic landscape and seascape paintings on paper scattering free.

My breath hissed out as pedestrians stepped onto my precious work.It was only when a man bent and collected my paintings that I realized he was the one and same man I’d collided into.

It took one breathless heartbeat for me to take in his magnificence.His tall, lean yet masculine body that was encased in a dark suit likely tailored especially for him.His shadowed stubble showcased a strong jaw and sensual lips, while his nose was perfectly proportioned to his high cheekbones and dark, mysterious eyes that hid tantalizing secrets.

He looked at me, freezing for a second before he asked huskily, “Are you all right?”

I am now.

At my shaky nod, he gathered up the last couple of paintings, pushed them into my folder, then drew me with him off the road.“You look far from all right,” he said in a deep, concerned tone.“I think you could do with a strong drink.”

I was made weak by his powerful presence, his intoxicating scent of forest and smoky leather aftershave.“I think you’re right,” I admitted with a shaky laugh.

He smiled then, his dark eyes crinkling slightly at the edges.“There’s a bar half-a-block away from here.Maybe I can buy you a drink while you tell me all about those amazing paintings I saw.”

I smiled, a glimmer of joy lighting me up from the inside out.“Thank you.I-I think I’d like that.”

I woke with a start, though my arm stayed asleep and tingled with pins and needles.I jerked the handcuff and its chain before I half-sat, then looked around, my memories flooding back with a vengeance.

I’d been dreaming, totally unaware I was prisoner now to the same man I’d been salivating over.I might have fallen madly and passionately in love with Evander in the past, but things were a whole lot different now.

I despised him and everything he stood for.He was mafia.He wasn’t just a bad man, he was evil personified.

Morning light flooded through the net curtains of the bedroom that was now my home, a bird twittering just outside as though welcoming me to my new home.

Piss off, bird.This will never be my home.

I yanked my arm again, clattering the chain on my restraint.That my bladder was full only added to my urgency.“Hello!Evander?I need to pee!”

Silence answered my query and panic grew inside of me like a tsunami, wild and aggressive.“Evander you son-of-a-bitch, I need to peenow!”

A far-off door creaked open then shut.The sound of approaching footsteps made my heart rate settle considerably, until Evander walked into his bedroom in the same suit he’d worn last night, the whites of his eyes tinged red and dark shadows beneath.

I gulped.Had he slept at all?“I need to use the bathroom,” I said hoarsely.

He nodded, then retrieved the handcuff key before he bent and unlocked it.It was a relief to move my arm and I shook out the pins and needles before I stood on too-weak legs.

“Thank you,” I muttered ungraciously before I walked quickly out of the bedroom and to his bathroom, all too aware of him following me close behind.Before I had the chance to shut the bathroom door, he put a hand out and caught it.

“The door stays open,” he said in a gravelly, no-nonsense voice.

“I’d like privacy while I pee,” I gritted out, even as I stumbled toward the toilet and pulled my leggings and panties down together, then sat on the seat.My bladder couldn’t be restrained a second longer and he stood watching me silently while I tinkled loudly for what seemed like forever.

“Pervert,” I snarled when I finally finished.

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