Claimed

Moving toward the bed, he bent down and gently kissed the sleeping girl’s forehead. “I’ll be back soon, darling,” he whispered.

Chapter 6

“I got your favorite. Here, have a sip.”

Groggily, Kelsey opened her eyes. Something was pushing at her lips and she realized it was a straw. James was sitting on the bed beside her, holding a bottle of sparkling apple cider that was her favorite thing to drink, and which she hadn’t been able to find since she’d moved to the area.

“How did you—” she started to ask, but then bit her lip. She didn’t want to know. She sipped at the bubbly drink as he held the bottle for her, avoiding his intense gaze. The dull throbbing in her calf bloomed into sharp pain as she came fully awake, and the traumatic and bizarre events of the last twenty-four hours unfolded in her mind like a horror movie. The straw fell from her lips as she gave a small cry.

“What? What is it, Kelsey? Are you in pain?” James set the bottle on the night table and reached toward her face. Instinctively Kelsey raised her hands to ward him off and saw the neckties dangling from her wrists. What the hell? Had he tied her to the bed while she’d been sleeping?

James smiled, his eyes glinting as he answered her unspoken question. “Just a precaution while I was gone,” he said. “You looked super hot tied down like that. Did you ever engage in bondage play with Adam?”

His words hit her like a smack in the face, though she shouldn’t have been surprised. She didn’t reply. Seemingly unperturbed, James said, “Want to see the pictures?” He held up his cell phone, his tongue moving over his top lip like a cat licking its cream.

Kelsey shook her head, sliding her eyes away from the cell phone. She reached for the knotted silk on either wrist, fumbling to untie it. James slapped at her hands. “Stop that. I didn’t tell you to take those off.” He picked up a prescription bottle from the night table and shook a pill into his palm. “Take this. Just one this time, so you don’t crash again.”

He touched her lips with the pill and Kelsey opened her mouth, accepting it. When he placed the straw at her lips she reached for the bottle, but he pulled it away. “No, no. I’ll do it.” He held the straw to her mouth and Kelsey sipped, hating him.

“When can I go home?” she asked, trying to keep her voice calm and rational, as if that might somehow rub off on him. Surely he couldn’t keep her there much longer. The whole thing was nuts.

“This is your home now, Kelsey. We can never go back to what was before. I’m sorry I took you by force, darling, but now that it’s done…” He shrugged, letting the words hang.

Panic rose like bile in Kelsey’s throat. “Listen to me, James,” she said earnestly. She grabbed at the sheets to cover herself and tried to pull herself more upright. A white hot poker of pain shot through her calf. She winced and blew out a breath, but pushed on. “You can’t do this. Just let me go. I promise I won’t report you. I swear to god. I’ll resign from the bank and—”

“Not necessary,” James interrupted. “You already quit.”

“What? I—”

“All taken care of,” James rolled over her words with his. “I gave Reynolds the news early this morning. He was a little disappointed that you left so abruptly, but young people today…” Again James shrugged, adding a grin. The grin fell away as he reached for the sheet, ripping it away from Kelsey’s naked body. “No one will miss you, Kelsey. You’re mine now, don’t you see? All mine.”

The blood in Kelsey’s veins turned to ice. “No!” she shouted. She shoved as hard as she could at James’ chest and tried to swing her legs around him with a vague idea of leaping from the bed. The burst of blinding pain in her calf reminded her of just how disabled she was at the moment. Even if she managed to get up, how could she possibly hope to get away? A wave of dizziness made her sway, the walls swimming before her eyes.

James was like a rock against her efforts to shove him aside. Languidly he stood and reached for her wrists, catching both in one hand. He jerked her arms over her head and tied the neckties to the headboard, ignoring her struggles. “You’re not behaving, Kelsey,” he said with a shake of his head as he stared down at her. “And after all I’ve done for you.”

“All you’ve done for me? What the fuck…?” Fury rendered her speechless, reddening her face and making her heart pound. She jerked hard against her restraints.