Wretched Love

I crossed my arms across my chest. His eyes flickered downward to where I’d unintentionally pushed my boobs together.

“How did you find out where I’m staying?” I demanded, my voice sharp but not as strong as I wanted it to be. There was a thinness to it… fear.

This man had figured out where I was staying in less than twelve hours. How easily could Preston find me? I’d covered my tracks well. Or at least, as well as someone like me could. I wasn’t freaking James Bond. But I’d felt comfortable here.

Safe.

A safety that shattered with Swiss’s arrival.

Not that I was scared of him exactly.

“We run this town, darlin’.” His eyes flickered up and down my body once more. Cue all the melty feelings. “And someone like you does not go unnoticed.”

The words warmed me and chilled me simultaneously.

Yes, it felt very good for him to find me attractive in the light of day, especially considering the state of me. But even my vanity couldn’t ignore the ‘we run this town’ comment, nor the mention of someone like me not going unnoticed.

How many other places had my presence been noted? Stored away for someone to give the information to Preston—or whoever he hired to find me—leaving a trail of breadcrumbs to this very motel.

My palms went clammy.

I had to leave.

It was that simple.

I had to leave here. I had to be smarter. I had to make decisions that did not involve sleeping with outlaw bikers.

“Why are you here?” I demanded. My voice was even weaker now that fear and reality had set in.

Swiss’s eyes narrowed, and all lightness and teasing left his eyes. “Why am I here?” he repeated quietly. Dangerously.

My skin prickled with unease and also desire.

Before I had the chance to inspect why I felt turned on and afraid at the same time—why the fear turned me on even further—Swiss had crossed the distance between us.

His hands were tight at my hips, making it clear that I couldn’t escape. He was much, much larger than me. Definitely stronger. I couldn’t fight my way out of this.

My past hurtled toward my present, memories of moments like this—when I was weak and helpless—clouding my mind, making everything blurry and sharp at the same time.

“Why am I here?” he said again, puncturing my thoughts.

I swallowed roughly, staring into the chasm of his eyes, desperate to escape but willing to do anything to stay in his gaze, in his arms. Despite everything, it felt safe. He felt safe.

“Were you present last night?” he asked. “I mean, I know you were present because I’ve got the scratches on my back to prove it.”

Images flashed through my brain. At some point last night, when he was changing my restraints, I had scratched his back, hadn’t I? Been desperate to make some kind of mark. I’d forgotten until now.

Lust smoldered in his eyes, and his words went right between my legs, caressing the places that were delightfully tender from him. His mouth. His cock.

Holy. Fuck.

Swiss’s expression turned wicked, as if he could read my mind, as if he could feel what he was doing to me. “Since you were present last night, you should know that that’s not something I’m gonna let happen only once.” He brushed the hair from my face. “I’m planning on getting to know every inch of you, fucking you in ways you couldn’t even imagine.”

Holy. Fuck.

My mind went cloudy for a second. Okay, longer than a second. I let myself savor in the feeling of his hands on my body, his promises. The way every single nerve, every single fricking cell came alive in his presence.

It was tempting to give in to that again. To him. To let him take control, to forget about everything else.