Page 19 of The Contract

“Touch it again, and there will be consequences.”

“I’m not,” I lie as convincing as possible with my teeth wrapped around the freaking iron shackle around my wrists.

What can I say? Obedience has never been my strong suit.

And what do they make zip ties out of? Titanium?

He taps a finger against my thigh, thoughtful. Too thoughtful.

“That little lie of yours… mmm.” The rumble that follows could register on the Richter scale. “It tastes like defiance… and desire. Two of my favorite flavors.”

Okay.

That stops me mid-bite. And almost costs me a tooth.

I’m still reeling when I hear it. The unmistakable click of a lock.

He’s opening a door.

A back entrance tucked into a brick building, and a door which looks like it was ripped straight off a vintage bank vault.

With me still slung over his shoulder like stolen cargo, he steps into a room so dark it swallows everything whole.

The door seals behind us, cutting off the world with a single click.

Along with it, my pulse, my oxygen, and my very last chance to escape.

CHAPTER 6

Riley

Darkness eats me alive.

Before I can scream, he speaks, and my breath shatters in my throat.

“It’ll only be dark for a moment.”

His accent dulls beneath a thick layer of calm. It’s that low, velvety warmth I imagine clings to monsters and madmen when they’re most in their element.

And yes, I’ve imagined them. Too many times to count.

When the darkness doesn’t ease up, dizziness fractures the air. My lungs seize. My heart thrashes wildly against the cage of my chest.

And then—I’m airborne. For half a second.

Before I land.

Not hard. Gentle. Feather soft.

A bed, I think.

The silence stretches tight, crawling across my skin.

My spiral into full blown hyperventilating is interrupted by a sudden scrape. Then a flick?—

Light flares to life. Not overhead. Not a bulb. A blaze of a long-stick match casting flickering shadows along the walls as he moves it to the center of a stack of wood.

The fireplace blooms to life, spilling golden hues across the vast space of a room.

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