A groan left her mouth. “I’m cold,” she whispered.
“I know, sweetie, and I’ll warm you up soon enough, but I need you to take this medicine for me. You’re sick. We need you better. This will help.”
My hand came to her forehead and I couldn’t believe how hot she’d gotten in the small amount of time. “Kaitlyn, come on.” A cry came from her mouth as I pulled her to a sitting position. Bloodshot eyes peered up at me, sleepily. While she was awake, I needed to get this medicine in her. “Not allergic to Penicillin, are you?”
“No.” She blinked, her lids nearly staying shut. “Blake.”
“Yes, Kaitlyn?” I took the opportunity of her mouth being open to push the pills in and bring the water to her cracked lips. “Tell me what you want to say after you take those.”
She swallowed and her eyes rolled back for the briefest moment before she blinked them back straight. “Am I dying?”
Just the thought had me shaking my head. Not because I wasn’t sure, but because imagining her death when I’d only just met her was unacceptable. “No, you’re not going anywhere but home. Well, technically you’re going to the hospital first, but then you’re going back to where you live. You should be happy about that, right?”
What looked to be a laugh tried to surface. “Yeah. Sure.” The agreement was laced with sarcasm. Confusion had me trying to read the multiple expressions that crossed her face.
“You don’t want to go home?”
Kaitlyn eased back onto the mattress, never answering. While I stared down, I couldn’t stop my mind from trying to figure her out her response. Where did she live? Was it nice? Some fancy penthouse where she dazzled all of her other model friends? I stiffened. Boyfriend? Someone more serious? No one appeared on the news, but maybe they weren’t public. Or maybe he was a piece of shit and didn’t want to be broadcasted to the world.
Anger enflamed my being at the very thought. I would have fucking pleaded if it meant the safe return of Kaitlyn. She was worth it. That, and so much more.
My hand pushed back the hair from her face and I couldn’t help but run my finger over the scar on her cheek. “Who are you, Kaitlyn Summers? I want to know everything,” I whispered.
A small moan left her lips as she turned into my touch. The scorching heat had me standing from the bed and walking into the bathroom. I wet a washcloth and came back to rest it on her forehead. She didn’t so much as flinch while I took off the rain boots. The blood on the back her heels had me shaking my head. I continued to talk to her as I wet another small towel and washed her feet. “You’re a tough one. I think that’s why I like you. So brave. You don’t give up.” My hand lifted her foot, inspecting it. Not too big, not to small. Perfect toes. Go figure. She was flawless everywhere.
“Suppose I keep you in Texas for a while. Watch over you as you get better. What do you think about that?” I shook my head. “Probably wouldn’t be a good idea. You’d be bored half to death. You’re a city girl and my house is out in the country. California, then? I could use a vacation. I bet you know all sorts of things to do in L.A.”
“Fuck L.A.” Kaitlyn groaned. “Cold. I need a blanket.”
“Ah, you’re awake.” I pulled her higher on the pillows and took a seat next to her. “Not yet. You still have your jacket on. You’re holding in enough heat. I mean, I’m no doctor, but I don’t think that’s a good idea. If it were up to me, I’d strip you down and let some of that fever escape.” The truth was, I was on the verge of doing that, but I couldn’t have her wake up thinking I was trying to take advantage of her. Not when she’d already lived that nightmare over and over for the last month.
The sound of her teeth chattering filled the small room. “No. God, just the thought of not having any clothes on makes me colder.” She tossed and turned, the pain evident in the sounds she made.
“Kaitlyn, I need to look at your back. I know it’s going to make you colder, but it’s important we clean you up.”
“Do you have to?” Her head turned, her bloodshot eyes barely opening.
The fact that she was even awake gave me hope. I was sure the medicine hadn’t kicked in yet. Not for another half hour, at least. And that’d only be the Tylenol. “Yes. It has to be done. Truthfully, I’d really like to get you in the shower. Think about it, Kaitlyn. Hot water. You might like that. And I have clothes onboard you can wear. They’re clean. Never been worn before. What do you say?”
Her mouth twisted as she lay there with her eyes closed. “I don’t think I can stand, let alone take a shower.” The last of her words trailed off.
“You’ll let me help you.”
A rueful smile came to her lips and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Don’t worry about me looking at you. I’ve already seen you naked, or have you forgotten? You need to be clean. End of story.”
“The story never ends.” She cracked open her eyes and the blue almost appeared violet. “The road just forks into a different plot.”
Smart. I nodded at her assessment. “I can see that. Now roll back over so I don’t hurt you even more. We’re getting you to the shower.”
“So sweet.” She brushed her fingertips over my forearm and I looked down at the contact. The reaction my body had was instant. Fuck, what was she doing? White teeth bit at her lip. “And very dangerous. I know what you hide, Blake Morgan. I see it in you.” The touch disappeared as her eyes closed and she appeared to go back to sleep. For the longest time, I couldn’t move. Only stare.
Shit, this wasn’t good. I stood, walking out to check on Marie and Nadine. They were both curled on the couch, asleep. Streaks from where the tears dried on Marie’s face stood out against the layer of grime covering her skin. Did these men never allow the girls to bathe? It was sickening the condition they were kept in. Her hand twitched and gripped to the dark haired little girl tighter. Bad dream? I had no doubt. The nightmares would likely be there for a long while.
My hand ran through my hair as I paced. A few more hours and we’d make it back to Texas. That was, if things went smoothly with getting out of Russian airspace. I’d paid a hell of a lot of money bribing my way through. I just prayed it paid off. If all went well, we’d be stopping in California to fuel up. If I was smart, I’d delay the flight long enough to get Kaitlyn checked into a hospital there and be on my merry motherfucking way. I just couldn’t. It wasn’t like she was going to die. I knew that now. But the need to make sure she was going to be okay in the long run had my decision becoming final before I could give it much thought. She’d go with me to Texas, long enough to get help. Once I heard from the doctor’s mouth that everything was going to be fine, then I’d fly us back to California. After she was all set up in her place, I’d break away… if I didn’t, she’d never escape. I knew what I was capable of. There was no way she deserved that after already being a slave.
A good hour passed by while I burned a hole in the carpet thinking about Kaitlyn’s last words. She saw it in me. Saw what? My need to hurt her in the best fucking way imaginable? Perhaps not. It was probably the evil in me she sensed. No way could she have been picking up my twisted thoughts. Those were mine alone to harbor. And so deliciously twisted they were.
I groaned, spinning around. The way I was acting was absolutely insane. Even though I knew I should stay away, I found myself walking back to the room. If I put off seeing her another second, I was going to lose it. As I entered the room, I froze at the empty bed. The door to the bathroom was opened and I hesitated before I came to the side of the entrance.
“Kaitlyn, you okay in there?” Fuck, I wanted to look. The reasons were endless, but the main one made me a bastard.
“Blake?”
Her voice was weak. The weight of my body braced against the wall. I leaned my head back, closing my eyes. Say it again. Say my name. “Do you need me to help you?”
Silence. My patience was running thin. If she needed help, she just needed to say it. Assuming she might was only making the line I walked even narrower.
“Kaitlyn, I’m coming in. If you’re uneasy about me seeing you without clothes, I suggest you throw some on.”
Before I could even finish, I was breaching the threshold. Kaitlyn was sitting on the floor, leaning against the glass shower door. Her legs were straight out in front of her, her head leaning to the side. I could see her eyes were open, but her breathing worried me. It has heavy, almost as if she were crying, or had been.
“Talk to me.” I crouched before her, wanting to sweep her in my arms. Feeling helpless was not something I was good at.
Shakily, her hand reached out to mine. “I thought I was going to be sick, but it went away. Maybe I should take that shower now that I’m not so cold.” The stare that was locked on mine glanced toward the mirror, but came back. “I just…saw…” Tears spilled over and she looked away. The pause of her hand rising told me she learned fast. I would have swatted it away again if she tried to hide herself from me.
“I’m ruined,” she said, letting out a sob. “Only once did I see it before, but I didn’t get a good look. Only felt.” She reached to wipe away the tears when I stopped her. My lips were kissing them away before I could even think about what the fuck I was doing.
Pressure gripping my hand ripped me out of the spell I was under. The darkness in me flirted along the edges and I wanted to destroy everything in my sight. Control was something I prized myself on. With her, I had none. And that was a scary thing. Not for me, but for her. My monster would devour her tiny body. Relish in all it could take. And he wouldn’t stop until he stripped her of everything she was able to give.
“Shower.” I stood, turning the water lukewarm in deference to her fever. As I helped her stand, she clung to me. It was obvious her balance was off. “You need to drink more water. Let’s try to get you in and out as fast as possible.” My hands eased the jacket off and stopped at the bottom of her sweater. “Do you want me to close my eyes? I can still hold on. You don’t have to worry about falling.”
“No?” Her eyes held mine, less bloodshot from the dropping fever. My hand itched to grip her throat and pull her mouth to mine. Was she intentionally goading me? Insinuating something about falling that had nothing to do with me dropping her? Yeah, she was. The last thing she wanted to do was show interest. If I knew she really wanted me, there was no getting away unless I granted the permission. With her, I doubted I’d ever let her escape. Then who’d be there to rescue her?
Chapter 4
Kaitlyn
Confused? Not my mind. My body on the other hand was torn between not feeling well and ready to devour the hot rescuer who kept trying to be a gentlemen. All I wanted to do was poke the animal in him with a stick to get a reaction. Damn, I was screwed up. It was there, though. I’d seen it up close and personal. What Blake held inside, I wanted a piece of. Not right now, but at some point. Yes. Even after everything I’d been through, my brain was still as one track minded as ever.
The air that drifted over my stomach as Blake slowly pulled the sweater up gave me the chills. My jaw clenched against the need to let it chatter. The brush of his fingertips against my ribs battled with the bi-polar symptoms plaguing me. One minute I was hot, the next cold, and Mr. Hot Stuff wasn’t helping. Whether it was the fever or my arousal was beyond me.
Static clung to my hair as he finished removing the garment. The tightness of my skin made my back ache as I brought my arms back down. A moan nearly escaped my mouth as my nipples tightened. Blake may have been staring at my face, but knowing he wanted to look was turning me on. Which was fucked up in itself. He just saved me from horrible slavery, for crying out loud, and here I was, wanting him to reach out and touch me? Well, at least I knew I was still normal. Somewhat.
I turned and untied the sweatpants, letting them drop to the floor. Maybe I should have been self-conscious, but I’d been modeling for so long, nudity didn’t even phase me anymore. Especially when I felt comfortable around someone. With Blake, I did. His fingers tossed my hair over my shoulder and I tensed for the briefest moment. Not from the fact that it was him, but more from the unconscious reaction of pain I associated with that part of my body.
“I just want to look at the cuts.” Lightly, his touch brushed along my skin. “Yeah, they’re definitely the reason you’re sick. How long have you had these?”
Fogginess took over, taking away from the fact that I was standing here nude in front of a man who already muddled my thoughts. “Two days, maybe three. I can’t remember. I might have slept the first one, so…four?” My head shook. “I don’t know.”
“Calm. You’re getting all worked up.” Blake led me into the shower and the water wasn’t nearly as warm as I needed. I turned it up and basked in the sensation. Although slightly on the verge of feeling like needles, to be clean was worth it. My captor had allowed only a few opportunities to wash, nowhere near as many as I would have liked.
My eyes traveled to him standing in the doorway, waiting for me to fall so he could catch me. And for some reason, I knew he would. I trusted this stranger. If my track record was worth anything, he might just let me fall right into the marble covering the floor. “Where are we going?” I braced my hand against the wall. Lightheadedness still plagued me and the nausea was coming back. Damn pills. I never took any medicine, and on an empty stomach, they were kicking my ass.
“Houston.”
“Texas?”
A smile came to his face. “I take it you don’t remember me talking to you.”
I searched my memories and came up empty.
“You don’t remember saying, fuck L.A.?”
Somewhere deep within, I did recall that. Why I’d said it was a mystery. “Maybe.” I shook my head. “No, not really.” I grabbed the soap and turned back to Blake. “What were you saying?” The way he was looking everywhere but at me suddenly reminded me of my scars. For so long I had never worried about the way I looked. Even without make-up, men stared, but now…I wasn’t that person anymore. Reality hit me like a bag of bricks. Maybe I was reading the situation wrong. Here I thought he was possibly attracted to me, but how could I have been so stupid? The train wreck that was now my appearance was not to be admired. Hell, he felt sorry for me. No wonder he kissed my tears when I was telling him about looking at myself. Blake saved slaves for a reason. Probably because he had a tenderness for their situation. I had been one. All the girls more than likely ended up getting treated this way by him.
“Here. Do you want me to help you? You’re not looking so well all of a sudden.”
“You didn’t answer my question.” I poured the soap on my palm and lathered the front of my body, cringing when liquid fire seared my side where one of the lashes from the whip had torn into my rib.
Blake had returned to looking at the floor. “It’s not important. Just mindless talk about how there were probably a lot more things to do in L.A. versus Texas. That’s all.”
“Oh.” I rinsed off my body and braced myself for the agony I knew would follow.
Hot water poured over my back as I turned and I couldn’t stop the sound that fell out. Fuck, it hurt wonderfully. The nearly crippling sensation felt like coming home. Especially after what I’d gone through for the last month.
“Okay, you’re good. I think your wounds are clean.”
I smiled and reached for the wall in front of me, continuing to let the release work its magic. My body was feeling lighter from the constant sporadic charges zapping my back. “Not yet, Mr. Morgan.” I closed my eyes. Fuck, I was getting heavy. The steam was making me tired, as was the torture my body was going through. I had to admit, when I was bringing this on myself, it felt good. Somewhat relaxing given what I had gone through.
The water was suddenly cut off causing my eyes to jerk open. “I said I wanted more time.”
One of Blake’s eyebrows rose. “And I said you’ve had enough.”
“But I haven’t even gotten to wash my hair. It’s a mess.”
He laughed. “You’re going to need more than a wash to
get out those knots. You can worry about it later. The way you’re swaying is making me nervous. I want you in bed before you fall and I open the cuts on your back even more by trying to catch you.”
“I’m fine. The medicine is working. I’m already feeling better.” Not a complete lie. The fact that I wasn’t shaking anymore was an improvement. If the weakness would subside, I might be all right.
“Bed. Now.”
Blake’s light blue eyes stared down at me through dark lashes. Such a contrast to the blond tips of his hair. The power behind his gaze penetrated into my very soul. Something within me literally retreated. I felt it crash against my insides with enough force to lock up my limbs. Moving was impossible. Oh….fuck. That look. My eyes lowered to the ground before I could stop them. Swallowing was almost impossible. Hesitantly, I lifted my gaze back to his. The dominance he excluded was so great, I couldn’t continue to meet his stare if I wanted to. He was a fucking Dom. The status was cloaked around him so thick that it was almost undeniable. Suffocating. And oh, so fucking hot.
There were only two people I’d gotten a taste of this sort of authority from. My part-time Dom and a friend of mine, Preston Martin, fellow model, and the suitor who fought the hardest to try to claim me. I’d never allowed myself to get close to Preston. I knew better than to mix business with pleasure. Plus, he was more like a brother to me. But with Blake, I could get used to the demands. Too bad he was only using them so I’d obey his order to get into bed.
I snatched the towel from his hand. “Yes, Sir.” The sarcastic tone that came out was beyond my control. It annoyed me that there was finally a man who teased the woman in me, and I was so ugly and scarred up that he pitied me.
“I’ll find you some clothes.”
As if I didn’t need a clearer sign of rejection, Blake swept past, all anger and control. It was probably killing him not to snap at me. After all, he was only trying to help and here I was being difficult. Whatever. I was getting tired again anyway. That had to be why I was in such a bad mood. Bitchiness wasn’t going to accomplish anything. I’d just wash my hair when I got to wherever I was going.
BLAKE: Captive to the Dark Page 4