Page 9 of Taken in the Tree Farm
"There’s nowhere left to run," he murmurs.
My back hits the bedpost. My heart is pounding so hard I’m almost certain it’s going to implode.
He stops just outside my reach, head tilting as he studies me. The firelight flickers across his features, and I can finally see his face clearly.
Strong jaw. Dark eyes that seem to see right through me. A wicked mouth with full lips.
He smiles, taking another step closer. "Now the real game begins."
CHAPTER 4
LUKE
She's magnificent when she's trapped.
I watch her back away from me, eyes wide and wild, chest heaving. The ruined sugarplum fairy costume clings to her body—torn tulle revealing more skin than it covers, rhinestones catching firelight and making her sparkle like the princess she is.
She's dirty from the dirt buried beneath the snow, scratched from low-hanging branches, trembling from exhaustion and cold. Her fishnets hang in tatters. The small crown that was perched so perfectly on her head now sits askew, tangled in red hair.
She's a complete mess.
She's absolutely perfect.
The workshop bedroom is everything I imagined it would be and more—intimate, warm, romantic in a dark fairy tale way. Red silk sheets that will look stunning against her bare body. A fireplace casting dancing shadows. Fur rugs soft enough to cushion her. And in the corners, those special chains attached to the bedframe.
But those are for later. Right now, I have other plans.
She hits the bedpost with her back and freezes, realizing she's out of room. Her bound hands come up defensively, velvet rope still holding her wrists together. Such a pretty pink binding.
Every detail matters. Every choice serves a purpose.
"Nowhere left to run, sugarplum?" I murmur, taking another slow step forward.
Her throat works as she swallows hard. She's terrified. Aroused. Fighting both with everything she has.
It's intoxicating.
I've been patient. I've given her the chase she needed, let her run and hide and fight. Now it's time totouch.
"I’m done chasing you," I say softly, unwinding more of the Christmas lights. "I’d like to have my way with you."
She presses harder against the bedpost, as if she could somehow melt through the wood. Her eyes track the lights in my hands, watching them pulse red then white then red again. I can see the endless possibilities running through her pretty little head.
Good. Let her imagination run wild.
I'm going to do all of it.
"Stay away from me," she says, but her voice lacks conviction. It's breathy, shaky, undercut by the way her body leans slightly toward me.
I smile. "Now sugarplum, we both know you don't mean that."
"I do. I—" She cuts off as I take another step, close enough now that I could reach out and touch her. "Please. Just let me go and I won’t tell anyone."
"Let you go?" I angle my head. "After I went to all this trouble? After I built this entire winter wonderland just foryou?"
Confusion flickers across her face, but she comes up wordless.
I take the final step forward, eliminating the space between us. She gasps, pressing back against the post, but there's nowhere for her to go. I'm close enough now to see the melted snowflakes on her eyelashes, close enough to smell winter and sugar on her skin mixed with…
