Burned Deep (Burned 1)

“You’ve fucked this whole thing up,” he insisted in a low, ominous tone. “For everyone. Including yourself.”

Swiftly he whipped off his suit jacket, followed by his tie. Before I could even react, he had my wrists bound with it and pulled my arms up and over my head as he secured the tie to the beam above us.

“No,” I uttered on a harsh breath. My throat felt raw and tight, my mouth dry.

“I listened that night you were in your office with Dane,” he said in my ear. “Before you talked about the rattlesnakes and scorpions.”

He let out a gruff laugh. My insides chilled.

Continuing, he said, “I knew that day in the bar that you were going to be his downfall. He’s never let a woman get to him, never gave one the power or opportunity to screw up everything for him. But that’s exactly what you’ve done. He lost sight of his goal, dropped the ball—because of you.”

“I’m not to blame for what’s happened at the Lux. You already admitted it’s all your doing.”

It was a wonder I could speak, but anger and fear propelled me forward, even as blood ran down the side of my face from where I’d hit the railing and dripped into my eye so that I had to try to blink it away, along with my tears. My cheek burned and my breath was still scarce. I’d never fathomed such pain in my life. Had I not practically been hanging from the rafters, I would have crumpled to the ground.

“How’d you do it?” I asked. I might have been stalling. I wasn’t wholly sure, because I really couldn’t think straight. It just seemed that the more he talked, the less damage he’d do to me. That was likely wishful thinking but I encouraged him anyway. “All of it. How?”

“I was there that day in the bar.” He still remained too close to me, whispering into my ear. “I followed Dane to see who he’d meet with off-property. It was Ethan Evans. I knew I had to find out what they were planning. Then you came barreling in and he lost all concentration. He couldn’t take his eyes off you. Fool.”

A lump of emotion swelled in my throat.

Dane.

Maybe it was true; maybe his attraction to me, everything we felt for each other, had kept him from working out all of his issues at the hotel. I didn’t know. I doubted I’d ever know. I wasn’t exactly convinced I was getting out of this mess alive.

“Later on,” Vale continued, “when the two of you spoke at the restaurant in Tlaquepaque, I knew he’d offer you a job at the Lux. I have someone on the inside. He was aware of the office Dane assigned you, because he took delivery of all the furniture and set it up. It was easy for him to wire the place.”

I had no idea why, but Wayne Horton’s voice cut through the hammering in my head.

… I’ve been working with various departments the past few months—IT, Facilities, Distribution Services, Grounds crew—whatever they need me to do. I’m sort of a jack-of-all-trades.

And that smile he’d given me. As it flashed in my head, it seemed less mischievous and more … devious.

Fuck. How convenient. Working with IT, Wayne could screw up the Web site and deactivate my access badge. With Facilities, he could have the furniture Dane ordered for the penthouse delivered to Monaco. He could have cut the security wires while part of the Grounds crew.

“How’d the snake get into the stairwell?” I asked.

“Brilliant, really,” Vale murmured. “Dane helped with that. So, too, did you. By wanting to keep this—what did he call it? oh, yes—sensational body in shape for him, you offered an easy way for me to prove how serious I am with my plight.”

His hands moved over my hips. I recoiled. “Don’t touch me.”

“I’m going to do more than that,” he said, his tone pure evil. “But about the rattler. Do you remember the gentleman in the bar whom you bumped into? The one with the diamondback tattoo on his neck?”

My blood ran cold. “Yes.”

“Seems he took offense to being shown up—and foiled—by Dane and was all too happy to help me out when I offered him the chance for retribution. I ascertained that a man with a snake tattoo likely had access to the creatures you loathe. As a matter of fact, he helped me with the scorpions as well. And if you ruin my negotiations with Dane, I’ll not only leave you here alone, tied up, but I’ll fill this house with everything that terrifies you.”

So Dane had been right. I wanted to scream again. I didn’t have the strength. My heart beat way too fast and more tears filled my eyes, cresting the rims and streaming down my cheeks, mixed with the blood still oozing from the cut on my forehead.

He said, “I was also listening when he got you off that night. All your moaning and begging him to fuck you…” His hands slid along my rib cage. “That made me hot.” His lips grazed my throat. My eyes squeezed tight as a violent tremor ran through me. “I had my dick in my hand, pumping with every hitch of your breath and every cry of pleasure.”

My stomach revolted. Bile burned my throat.

His hands moved upward and he ripped apart the buttons on my blouse.

“No!” I screamed through all the pain and fear.

“I told you this could have gone so much smoother for you. Now … I get payback.” Cupping my breasts through my bra, he squeezed roughly. Too rough. I cried out again. “That’s what I like to hear. And, Jesus Christ, these are nice tits. I’m going to rub my cock between them, pushing your head down, making you suck me hard.”