Seized: A Rough Romance

by Piper Stone

  Martyr. That had never been my intent.

  Growling, I grabbed the comforter, easing it over her body, tucking in the corners as I tried to offer a smile. “A hot bath will do you some good, but we have a bad storm coming in. I’ll be back in a few minutes to check on you.” I rubbed my fingers across her cheek and could tell she’d flinched from my touch.

  As I stood, her eyes followed me, her lips twisting. When I was only ten feet away, I cocked my head, finding it difficult to look at her. “Rest. You might have a mild concussion. For what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re safe, Delaney. I don’t want anything to happen to you.” Seconds later, I heard a sound and turned. She’d shifted onto her side and away from me, pulling the covers halfway over her face.

  I snorted then moved toward the front door.

  This was nothing but a freaking nightmare.

  * * *

  “This is ridiculous,” Jax yelled as he wiped water from his face. The rain was steady, the wind shifting directions. At least the windows and doors were secured. He bent over, planting his hands on his knees before turning his head in my direction. “I didn’t sign on for this shit, buddy.”

  I brushed one hand through my hair, staring at the darkened skies. I’d lived through several vicious storms in my life, but my instinct told me this one could be disastrous. Another gust of wind blew across the horizon, the trees bending from the significant force. As my body was tossed against the railing, Jax glared at me.

  “Get the fuck inside,” he snarled. “You are gonna let me find out if that bullet made it clean through. If not, I’m gonna need to do an extraction.”

  I twisted my hand on the railing, glaring out at the malevolent ocean. “I don’t give a fuck what happens to me.”

  “Then you’re a dumbass. Do it now, or I’ll make certain I hurt you.”

  I almost laughed at his asshole attitude. I’d been the one to dig a bullet from his shoulder years before. “Fine. I’m going to check the weather, then I’ll find supplies.”

  “What about the boat?”

  “Nothing to do about it now. At least we saved Delaney.”

  Jax sneered and moved toward the door. “You care for her. Don’t you? She shot you and you still hunger. I’m not sure that’s a relationship in the making.”

  Glancing in his direction, a sick feeling pooled in my stomach. “It doesn’t matter if I care for her or not. After we get through this storm, Carter will be dealt with. She’s simply along for the ride until we can get her to safety.”

  “I suggest you stop lying to yourself, Sawyer. That’s what almost got the both of you killed. There’s something about her.” He hesitated, shaking his head. “The poor damn girl was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She learned the hard way that monsters do exist.”

  I closed my eyes, enjoying the few seconds of pelting rain before opening the door, yanking on the massive shutters designed to resist the weather. I almost laughed at the thought. The real horror remained inside the estate.

  The walk to the communications room seemed to take longer. Once inside, I yanked Rafael’s shirt from under mine, tossing the blood-soaked material onto Carter’s desk. I was almost numb from the cold as well as the loss of blood, the agony forcing me to thump down in the chair as I took several painful breaths. I yanked at the tee shirt, touching my fingers against the wound and wincing. If I had to guess, I’d say the bullet had gone clean through. At least I still had some tingling in my fingers. As I pulled up the weather on the system, I was shocked how large the storm had gotten. Now a weak category three, it was still expected to gain strength over the warm water. At least it was moving rapidly.

  We had less than six hours before the massive storm hit. The outer bands had already arrived.

  As if we deserved any kind of luck.

  Fuck.

  I sat back in the chair, closing my eyes. Exhaustion quickly settled in as the adrenaline started to wane. Everything had gone to shit so damn fast. I had no idea what recourse I had. Maybe the storm was a way to wipe the slate clean.

  A laugh bubbled to the surface, creating another wave of pain. Even my ears were ringing.

  “She’s beautiful,” the voice said in such an alluring way.

  I struggled to open my eyes, forced to blink several times, afraid I was shifting into hallucinations.

  Delaney stood in front of the desk, her body wrapped in the comforter. With her wet hair, she was perhaps the sexiest woman I’d ever seen.

  “What are you doing?” I heard the almost nasty tone in my voice, but it had nothing to do with the fact she hadn’t followed my command. I would never forget her ashen face or the way her lifeless body felt in my arms. “You need rest.”

  “I’m fine, Sawyer. In case you haven’t figured out, I’m a big girl and usually handle a lot of shit.” While her words were laced with the same kind of bravado I’d heard from the beginning, her hand shook as she clenched the comforter covering her body.

  “Like I said, you need to rest.”

  “And you need to stop being an asshole.”

  “You were dead, Delaney. You weren’t breathing,” I choked.

  My God, the woman was both infuriating as well as enticing. Snorting, I struggled to sit up, finally able to focus on what she held in her hand. I’d left the damn picture of Amber on the desk. When I struggled to snatch it from her, an involuntary moan pushed up from my throat.

  She immediately shifted her gaze in my direction. Instead of hatred, there was concern in her eyes. “You’re hurt. I knew that the second I came to. And I... I didn’t... I mean...” She laughed nervously. “You need to let me see the wound. Okay?”

  Suddenly, she had difficulty looking at me.

  I had no energy left to argue with her, although I managed to snag the picture from her hand, shoving it on the other side of the desk. As she walked toward me, I studied her pensive face. Even in her disheveled state, everything about her was breathtaking. Her skin glowed in the lighting, her eyes sparkling as she gingerly eased the collar of my shirt away from my chest.

  A few tense seconds passed.

  “There was an explosion on the boat. Do you remember?” I asked, trying to keep my tone neutral.

  “Sort of. There was no indication. Nothing. Suddenly the boat just stopped.” She had a faraway look in her eyes, as if her memory had just been jogged.

  My anger shifted closer to the surface. Had Carter somehow managed to intercept my conversations with Rafael, allowing him time to implant a bomb? While I wouldn’t put anything past the asshole, it made more sense that there were some assholes who’d followed us, landing on another part of the island.

  “Why did it explode?”

  Her hollow question bit into me. “I don’t know.” The admittance was difficult, more so than I cared to acknowledge.

  “Is that your girlfriend?” she finally asked, pointing toward the picture.

  For some insane reason, I hesitated, an ache pulsing in my head.

  “Hell, no. At least not any longer. She was... the wrong one.”

  “Yet you carry a picture of her.”

  I was taken aback, all the reasons I’d given myself sounding ridiculous in my mind. “A reminder why I will never be in a relationship.”

  “How sad,” she said, her tone haunting. “Everyone deserves to be with someone they care about.”

  Tick. Tock.

  “Okay, listen to me. We need to get this cleaned up,” she said in her usual defiant tone. “I’m not going to take no for an answer. So, you’re going to need to help me get you to the bathroom. Can you do that for me?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “You’re not fine. You’re stubborn as hell.” She darted her gaze toward the bloody shirt. “You’ve lost a lot of blood. If I have to drag you out of here, I will. Please help me.” When she placed her hand on my cheek, I was surprised how warm she felt.

  For a few precious seconds, I basked in the comfort she’d given me, even though all hell was about
to break loose. “I can manage.”

  Delaney backed away, her eyes narrowing as she watched me struggle to stand. The second my body swayed, she immediately wrapped her arm around my waist. “Whoa. You’re not fine. I’m going to help you. Just lean on me.”

  As the comforter slid to the floor, my desire for her roared to the surface, my thoughts drifting to all the filthy things I wanted to do to her. However, that wasn’t going to happen. Not now.

  Perhaps never again.

  I couldn’t own her. She would never belong to me.

  As she slowly walked me toward the hallway, I took a second to gaze back at Amber’s picture. The woman was nothing more than a ghost, and one I no longer wanted as a presence in my life. She’d made her choices. Maybe she was happy living in Chicago or New York, wherever the last place was that she moved to. I no longer cared.

  Neither one of us said anything as we walked toward the bathroom adjoining her room. Her room. The one with a lock on it. What the hell had Carter been doing? I bit back a laugh, the pain too intense.

  As we entered the bathroom, she stood behind me, her hands on my forearms. “I’m going to need to remove your shirt. That means I’ll need to cut it off. Okay? Just stay put. I’m going to put on some clothes and get the scissors from my bag.”

  While I wanted to argue with her, all I could do was slump against the counter, staring at our reflections. A ridiculous thought ran through my mind. What a nice couple. God. I was losing my shit fast.

  She darted a single glance in my direction then moved out of the room. I glared at the man standing in front of the mirror, no longer able to recognize him. When she returned, the tropical dress she’d chosen had the same effect as seeing her for the first time. My cock twitched, another wave of hunger spilling into my system. I couldn’t help but leer at her, the longing evident by the expression on my face.

  Her face flushed, her lower lip quivering yet she held the same rebellious expression as before. “It’s just a dress, the only one I brought for some stupid reason. Let it go.” A pair of scissors in her hand, she wasted no time before cutting the material of my shirt.

  “I told you I wasn’t a good man.”

  “You’re a complicated man with a sordid past.”

  “Sordid. That’s a word that hasn’t been used before,” I said, chuckling under my breath.

  “You’ve told me almost nothing about you, Sawyer, so how would I know? If you want me to judge you from your behavior over the last couple of days, then you’re right, you’re a bastard; however, I think you’re hiding behind the dark and dangerous persona.”

  “And why would I do that?”

  Darting a single look into the mirror, her gaze falling on my eyes, she smiled wryly. “Because you believe there’s no good left inside of you. I think you’re wrong.”

  “You know nothing, sweetheart. I was sent to prison for supposedly stealing money from my own company. So see? I’m a horrible fuck of a person.” Feeling sorry for myself wasn’t going to do a damn bit of good.

  “Then why did you save me? Why risk your life to save mine? I mean nothing to you, right? I can’t bring Carter here. I can’t offer you anything to try and help you because you won’t allow me in. So why bother keeping me alive?”

  I opened my mouth to answer, but the truth was almost as painful as the injury. “Because you don’t deserve to die.”

  “And you do?” she demanded. When I didn’t say anything, she shook her head. “You might have done some bad things in your life, but I don’t think you’re some petty thief.”

  “Petty? To the tune of two million dollars, all placed neatly in an offshore account that I hadn’t created. But it had my name and signatures all over it.”

  “You were framed.”

  “By Carter. He did a damn good job of making me feel guilty.” What the hell? I had nothing to lose in telling her.

  “Maybe he isn’t the man responsible, Sawyer.” Exhaling, she finished cutting the shirt, slowly peeling away the material, her eyes opening wide. “The wound is on both sides. Does that mean the bullet went through? I’m no expert on bullet wounds.”

  I nodded, leaning closer in order to inspect the wound. “It’ll be okay, and I have a feeling you’re good at anything you put your mind to, but there was no one else with access and the ability to create fraudulent accounts and provide convenient evidence to the authorities. He is guilty.”

  “One stubborn as shit man, Sawyer whatever your last name is.” She growled as she yanked a washcloth from the closet, turning on the faucet. “It could get infected. Now, sit on the counter and let me do this.”

  “Gunn.”

  “Yeah, I know. I already said I’m sorry.” Her actions remained stilted.

  “No, I mean Gunn is my last name.” I had no idea why I’d told her, other than at some point she would learn every detail of the ugly truth. Maybe I felt I owed her something. Maybe I owed it to myself. Huffing, I looked away as she placed the washcloth against my shoulder.

  “Sawyer Gunn,” she whispered, gently wiping away the blood.

  “You’re never heard Carter mention my name before?”

  “No. He was very private, Sawyer. I didn’t lie to you about that. Secretive would be the word.” She laughed bitterly, her eyes drifting toward the mirror. I could swear she was remembering something or perhaps was simply doing wistful thinking.

  “Carter was a private man. When I met him, my gut told me that he was an arrogant asshole.”

  “Then why did you go into business with him?”

  “Because he offered me a hell of a lot of money for my boat designs.”

  Delaney seemed surprised, a smile crossing her face. “You were the designer.”

  “At first, that’s all I was. He wanted to break free of his parents’ very wide wings,” I said, laughing. “He made me the kind of offer that would have been difficult for anyone to refuse. For a few months, everything was peachy keen as he attempted to forge a union with another company. Plans fell through, although I was never privy to the information as usual.”

  “That’s why you went into business together?”

  The second I winced, she pulled away, narrowing her eyes. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’m tougher than I look.”

  This time, her look was nasty, yet she continued pressing the cloth against my skin. “Yeah, one bad man.”

  We were getting nowhere. Sighing, I studied the careful way she tended to me, the pressure from her long fingers gentle. Even loving. I had to push the thought out of my mind. What the hell did it matter? “Over shots of tequila, I offered all the money I’d saved to Carter if we started a business together. I was shocked he seemed excited, even drawing up a contract within days, but things aren’t always as they seem. He certainly couldn’t handle a fifty-fifty co-ownership. Still, I’d had enough of a taste of the good life, something I never thought I’d achieve, so I made the decision to accept. Things were damn good for a few years, although our relationship was always strained.”

  “And the embezzlement he accused you of?” She lifted her gaze before rinsing out the cloth. “If you were his designer, the bread and butter of the company, why would he do that to you?”

  I wasn’t certain where this line of questioning was coming from or going, but I’d already said too damn much. “What are you getting at, Delaney?” My tone was still accusatory. I swallowed bile, angry that I’d never be able to trust anyone.

  “Getting at? You’ve spent so much time planning revenge against Carter that you have lost perspective. Why would he risk his family’s name or their wealth to frame you? I may not know him like you do, but that’s way beneath him. You already said that he made you an offer you couldn’t refuse for your designs. If so, I’m certain he could have found a number that enticed you enough to be able to buy you out of the company. Everyone is for sale. Everyone has a price. Even bad men.”

  For some reason, her biting words infuriated me more than others had before. Maybe she was
just getting too close to the surface, picking away at an entirely different wound, one that would never heal.

  I yanked her wrist, dragging her between my legs. She struggled, jerking in order to get out of my hold. That wasn’t going to happen. As I lowered my head, I could see the same fear popping up in her eyes I’d seen more than once.

  “Not everyone, Delaney. Even though I grew up being shifted from one shit-ass foster care family to another, I never took anything off anyone. Yeah, I did some bad things, even a few I’ve regretted, but I also worked my ass off just to be able to get through school, including college. You bet I enjoyed living the good life for several years. Who the fuck wouldn’t? But I spent seven days a week for months in order to make Bradley Enterprises the most sought after firm not only in the United States, but the world. Yeah, me. The kid with a drug addict for a mother and a criminal for a father. The simple truth is that I didn’t want to sell out to a man who would bastardize my designs, luring in the rich and famous for huge profit margins. That’s called integrity. I was proud of my designs, drawings that I’d created and sweat over. When all else failed and everyone abandoned me, I still had my art. Judge me all you want, sweetheart. I deserve it. I crossed the big fat line into becoming nothing but the same kind of trash my father was, but I did not steal anything from Carter Bradley. I do have some honor.”

  My breathing ragged and the desire for her searing every cell and muscle, it was all I could do not to pitch her over the counter, fucking her in the ass for punishment if nothing else.

  “And you better believe that Carter enjoyed holding that over my head. You see, I’d trusted him with the shit I’d come from. I have no idea why I was that stupid. He’d come from the richest parents on the freaking East Coast. Why the hell would he give a shit about a kid from the streets of Chicago?” For some reason, admitting the past was like a weight being lifted off my shoulders.