Dominate (Deliver 8)

“I pretend I don’t need anyone.” She swallowed, her vision blurring with tears. “I keep everyone at a distance. But deep down, I still dream of finding a life partner, someone who loves me enough to be loyal. Faithful.”

“Is that why you’re fucking Evan? You want him to love you?”

“No.” She wiped at her wet cheeks and looked away. “He’s charming and nice and…”

Too perfect. Too doting. Too much like Mason. That scared the crap out of her.

“Women love him,” she said. “I’m not his only lover. I mean, we don’t have that kind of relationship. We’re just neighbors.”

“With benefits.” His judgmental tone added insult to his narrowed glare.

“You’re not in a position to look at me like that. You fuck whomever you want and make those women hurt. Your words. Don’t you dare shame me for having a sex life.”

With a grunt, he turned his attention back to the chili and ate another spoonful.

There was only one bite left.

She balled her hands so tightly her nails dug into her palms. “You’re not going to let me eat?”

“Give me the names of your sexual partners, and I’ll feed you.”

“I don’t know their names.”

“You don’t know who you’re fucking? How did you meet them?”

Her hunger outweighed her pride, making it easy to answer. “Dating sites and hookup apps. Their usernames were probably not their real names, and I don’t remember any of them anyway.”

“Where’s your phone?”

He already knew her identity. There was nothing in that duffel bag worth hiding.

“Buried in the ruins of the Milton house,” she said. “Southwest corner.”

He shoved the bowl toward her.

She fell upon it like a rabid dog, sucking the last bite off the spoon until it gleamed. Heavenly flavors exploded on her tongue as she dropped the utensil and dragged her fingers along the bottom of the empty bowl, frantically scraping out every drop.

“Where are you?” He stood with his phone to his ear. “Okay. Swing by Caroline’s house on your way back.”

As he recapped the conversation about her duffel bag, she cleaned every speck of chili from the bowl with her fingers and tongue. It didn’t come close to putting a dent in her hunger.

He ended the call and turned toward her. “Are the dating apps still on your phone?”

“Yes, but I swear, Tommy, I never told anyone about you. Don’t hurt those guys. They were just one-night stands.”

“Let’s go.” He gripped her arm and wrenched her from the chair.

“Go where?” She tried and failed to escape his grip as he dragged her toward the bedroom. “Wait! I’m still hungry.”

“Not hungry enough.”

“What do you mean?” She dug in her feet and stumbled with the force of his forward motion. “I answered your questions.”

As he hauled her away from the kitchen, it became horribly apparent that one bite of chili was all he would give her.

Eating was imperative. But more than that, she felt the overpowering instinct to run.

She went wild, thrashing, punching, biting, kicking, and somehow, she broke free. Her thoughts spun into chaotic indecision, but her body took the reins, bolting through the house and toward the front door.

Blood pounded in her ears, her pulse spastic and breaths bursting.

Running into the desert would be suicide. She needed her keys and scoured every surface as she flew past the front room. Nothing. But she didn’t slow.

Outside, she slammed into a wall of hot air, the sky pitch black and her truck nowhere in sight.

Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck.

She darted around the side of the house, searching for anything that might help her escape this miserable wasteland. Where was her fucking truck?

If she sprinted in the direction of the Milton house, could she find her way in the dark? Did she have the strength to travel two miles on foot? Then what? She’d dig up her phone, but it didn’t have a signal. And she needed the map in her truck to find the closest town.

Fuck!

“You’ll die out there.” His chilling voice fell against her back, terrifyingly close.

She spun, backing away from his towering silhouette. “Where’s my truck?”

Only a few feet separated them, and he stayed with her, prowling forward as she reeled backward.

Twilight threw the hollows of his cheekbones into shadow and accentuated the handsome planes of his face. He was a vigilante criminal, a lawless punisher, with righteous murder pumping through his veins.

His dangerous lifestyle was echoed in the strength of his hands, the cruelty from his lips, and the sheer power of his body as he trapped her like the sun in the barren desert. Inescapable heat, nowhere to run, and she was starving, the looming threat of another day here as brutal and unforgiving as the man himself.

“Let me go, Tommy.” Her heart hammered, and she retreated another step, trembling. “I know you think I’m a loose end, and you’re meticulously good at your job, always finishing every task set upon you, even the ones that are bothersome and undesirable. But I’m not a job. You’re starving an innocent woman and holding her captive. That violates everything you and your friends are doing. If there’s someone truly after me, you should be protecting me not hurting me.”