Taboo: A Dark Romance Boxset (Stud Ranch 1)

But nope. I can’t get even one damn board would budge.

How long does the insane bastard intend to keep me caged up in here? If he thinks I’m going to stand for this, he— he—

What, Mel? You’ll yell at him some more?

Yeah, that’ll show him.

I wrap my arms around myself as I peek through crack at the door.

As the sunlight drops behind the mountains, it’s impossible not to feel my spirits sink with it. At least it’s not very cold since it’s May. But it’s dark. So dark inside the shed I can’t tell if the moon is out at all. Through my little crack by the door I can just make out that a few lights are on in the house.

Is he really going to leave me here overnight? So what if he is. It’s not like I’m afraid of the dark, come on, I’m a grown wom—

A howl breaks the quiet.

I shriek and jump backward, almost stumbling and falling on my ass.

A second howl joins the first.

Holy shit—are those wolves? Like, legit wolves wolves?

I keep backing away until I’m in the center of the shed, turning first one way frantically and then the other. Christ, now am I hoping the walls are durable?

Breathe. Just Breathe, Mel. But I can only seem to gasp in air in tiny little pants.

“How are you doing, Pet?”

I shriek again at Xavier’s voice, so close he sounds like he’s right at my back. I swing around and find him standing in the doorway, holding up a flashlight that’s also a stand-up lamp.

Holy shit, how did he open the door without me even hearing him?

He’s holding blankets and a basket. As if he does mean for me to spend the night out here. Son of a bitch.

“Did you fantasize about me when you were being so disobedient and fucking yourself all day long?” His voice is sharp as a whip.

My mouth drops open and I step back as he steps inside the shed. And let me just reiterate, it’s a very small shed and Xavier is a very large man.

Maybe I should have tried to run at him and get through the door the second I saw him there—but really, it’d be like running at a brick wall. I imagine myself bouncing right off him like in some cartoon. Either that or I’d get a concussion.

Not to mention that no matter how truly screwed sideways this is all getting, he’s still got my dad’s life to hold over me.

And there’s what he just said. I’ve had the past few hours to think about how he knew what I was up to all day. The only thing I can think of is that he had cameras set up in the house. Watching me.

Like he can hear my thoughts, his next words echo and confirm them, “Watching your hands all over my cunt, taking what’s only mine to give.” He sets down the blankets and basket, advancing toward me.

“Maybe she’ll come to her senses, I thought. Realize just how much what she’s doing will displease her master. But then I realized—” One of his hands grips the short hair at the back of my skull. He yanks my head backward, baring my throat and forcing me to look him in the eyes, “—she doesn’t acknowledge me as Master yet. Which means she and possibly my baby inside her aren’t safe.”

His jaw tenses and his dark eyes burn with that dangerous glint he sometimes gets. “Do you know how it makes me feel when things I own aren’t safe?”

I swallow hard and his gaze focuses on my throat.

“It doesn’t make me happy, Pet. I need to keep my things safe. And to do that, I need order. Discipline. A horse that’s not broken is a danger to itself and everyone around it.”

Every word coming out of his mouth is terrifying. He’s talking about me like I’m a possession. An animal he owns.

I want to lash out at him. Scream obscenities I know will infuriate him.

Another part of me is far too terrified by everything that’s happened over the past few days. Being dragged out here in the middle of nowhere to a place where I don’t know any of the rules. Then there’s the sex. Now being locked in a shed. Not to mention everything else about the confusing man holding me in such a vulnerable position.

With his hand still gripping my short hair, his head drops and then he’s kissing and biting his way up my exposed throat. I gasp at the sensation because I’m infuriated that he would dare take such liberties after locking me up like this.

And because for one exhilarated and confused second, I think he’s going to continue up my neck and finally kiss me on the mouth.

Instead he sucks long and hard on my throat right above my collarbone, sure to mark me in the place most visible no matter what I wear.