Page 10 of Hideaway

The dining hall filled with the sound of chairs scraping against marble and mild dissent as the men at the table abandoned their half-finished plates of breakfast and heeded their boss’s request. Breakfast aside, they were all more than happy to escape the line of fire as Cade’s mood slipped from dim to dangerous.

Kara leapt to join them, quite content to be free from the lingering stares of strangers and the smoldering glare of the hateful man at the head of the table. She had every intention of stowing away in her room until death by starvation or whatever means Cade devised claimed her because she was not about to suffer the company of any man in that room ever again.

“Not you, Miss Caine,”Cade reprimanded harshly.“We still have matters that require discussion.”

Kara willed her body to disobey his order and escape the room with the others, but his eyes kept her feet pinned to the floor as though with the weight of a hundred stones. In complete panic, Kara watched as each man followed Cade’s orders dutifully and exited the room. Jace, the obnoxious fuck, had the nerve to throw her a provocative wink before leaving the room and closing the double doors firmly behind him. She flinched at the sound; it rang with the finality of doom.

All too quickly, Kara was alone. With Cade. And it scared the absolute fuck out of her.

“Sit down,”Cade ordered harshly, pointing to her abandoned chair.

After a small beat of hesitation, Kara obeyed, sliding back into the chair with huff of annoyance and a scowl of frustration. The insufferable man and his goddamn orders could go to hell. She watched Cade warily, unsure of his intentions. Beside a brute like Jace, Caden had come across as nearly chivalrous during the events of the previous evening. In the light of day, there was an obvious viciousness that lurked beneath the refined attire and smooth British accent.

“So, how long am I to remain a prisoner in this house?”Kara asked sharply, exhausting her last shred of patience for whatever game he was playing. She wanted answers, and, if he wanted a mildly cooperative hostage, he would offer them.

“You have been taken care of and given many liberties, Miss Caine. You are not restricted to the house; you may go anywhere on the grounds, and they are quite vast, I assure you.You are my guest, and you have been treated as nothing less,”Cade responded evenly.

“Are all of your guests kidnapped and held against their will?”Kara asked indignantly.

“You are not locked in a dungeon. You are not bound with ropes and chains,”he said patronizingly as he gestured to the obvious freedom of movement she enjoyed in her seat beside him.“Though both could be arranged if it would enhance your fantasy of being my captive,”he answered with a salacious grin pulling at his lips.

What the actual fuck?

Kara surveyed the dark amusement in his eyes with open mouthed horror. Her instincts told her to run, and, for once, she wasn’t one to disagree. She jolted from her chair, eying the distance between herself and the door.

“Sit down, Miss Caine,” Cadeordered in exasperation.“I’m not going to hurt you.”

Yet.

Shaken, Kara fell back into her seat, the strength of her traitorous limbs having fully abandoned her at the sight of Cade’s chastising glare.

“Now, how can we resolve this situation as amicably as possible?”Cade asked, fully intending to be reasonable. Within limits.

“I think any hope of amiability was discarded when you chose to drag me to your home against my will.”

“Perhaps you’re right. If it is any consolation, I don’t enjoy your presence in my home any more than you do.”

“Then let me go.”

“You know I can’t do that. You have put me in a very difficult situation, Miss Caine. You would find my easiest options rather disagreeable, and, in consideration of this, I have delayed my decision on what is to be done with you. But I warn you, the inevitable cannot be delayed forever. Your cooperation would best benefit all parties involved, yourself most of all.”

“I think I have made my opinions on that subject very clear, Mr. Ashford,”Kara answered firmly, rising from her chair and hastily heading for the exit, eager to avoid spending another moment alone in a room with such a man.

Cade prevented her escape easily, capturing her arm and jerking her around to face him. His expression was fierce, imperious. Kara shrank back from the unconcealed danger that lurked within his eyes, her sense of self-preservation begging her to give in to his demands, whatever they may be. As usual, her virtues of preservation and pride were at odds.

“Do not turn your back on me again, Miss Caine. You’ll find I’m not as amenable on the second offense,”he admonished harshly.“You were not excused, nor has our business been concluded.”His eyes bored into hers as though he could coax her submission by mere force of will.“Now, you will tell me the passcode and help me retrieve the book,”he commanded, his eyes cold and hard as he tightened his grip on her arm to enforce her surrender.

“Fuck you,”Kara spat, turning away from him and whimpering when she twisted her own arm in the process.

Cade jerked her back toward him, thrusting her body roughly against the rigid contours of his chest. He grasped her jaw, his fingers digging painfully into the side of her cheeks as he forced her eyes up to meet his. His eyes were dark, nearly every fleck of gold extinguished by a black, all-consuming haze of fury. In spite of all of her bravery and resolute defiance, Kara trembled in his hold.

“Disrespect me again, and I will bend you over that table, take off my belt, and spank you until you remember your fucking manners,”Cade threatened coldly, his tone deadly serious as his hand moved to the buckle of his belt for emphasis.

Kara stilled against him in abject horror. Fuck it, at that point, she would rather they murder her. At least being shot or stabbed would be a relatively quick and clean death versus slowly succumbing to a demise from humiliation after being bent over and spanked by Caden fucking Ashford.

“Are you going to behave?”Cade asked sharply, digging his fingers a little deeper into her cheeks.

Kara swallowed down the sickening taste of iron as the bruising pressure of Cade’s grip forced her teeth to cut into the tender flesh of her inner cheek. Still stunned speechless, she merely nodded in agreement. She would have to decline Cade’s demands for the book as politely as possible to prevent any of the evil bastard’s cruel and unusual punishments.

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