She still shook with the memory. But the pleasure was tainted with guilt, and her heart twisted when she thought about the way she had betrayed Ken.
The day was almost over when Beth spoke, snapping her gum. “You’re quiet today. Are you thinking that maybe you’re marrying the wrong brother?” She leaned against the jewelry counter and looked at Ava with shrewd eyes.
“What?” Ava dropped the sales receipt in her hand, ignoring it as it fluttered to the floor. Did she see something? Hear something? Does Beth know that I was seduced by Todd in the middle of the store? Ava thought.
“Well, that Todd sure is one good-looking guy. I figured since he came in to see you today, that maybe you were thinking twice about marrying Ken. I mean, Todd’s so hot that I would drop my panties in a flash for him.”
Ava laughed nervously. “No,” she said. “He just wanted to talk to me about some wedding details. He’s our photographer.”
“Uh huh,” Beth said, snapping her gum again. “He didn’t look at you like he was a photographer. He looked at you like you were a piece of steak and he was a hungry lion.”
The bell above the door tinkled again, but Ava didn’t look up. She was afraid that it was Todd. Or, worse yet, Ken. She wasn’t prepared to face either of the men.
“Ava,” Beth hissed.
Reluctantly, Ava looked up. But rather than seeing the face of her fiance or recent lover, she saw the young man who had been shopping earlier that day.
But his charming smile was gone.
He’d pulled his hood over his head so that most of his face was cast in shadows, but she could see the glittering of his cold, blue eyes. Totally devoid of the charm they had exuded earlier, they seemed predatory.
He held a gun, and it was pointed at Ava.
“Into the back room. Both of you. Now.” His words were clipped and short.
Ava felt frozen. Unable to move. Unable to breathe. She only stared at him, wondering how her initial assessment of him could have been so wrong.
“Move!” he snarled.
Beth grabbed Ava’s arm and almost yanked her into the storeroom. There, surrounded by cardboard boxes and piles of paper, they turned to face the robber.
He grinned, but the twist of his lips wasn’t charming. It was frightening.
He tossed a roll of thick tape to Ava. “Tie her hands behind her back.”
Beth turned her back to Ava, her shoulders shaking. Ava’s fingers trembled as she fumbled with the tape, the sound of it unnaturally loud in the quiet room. She dropped the roll and bent to retrieve it.
“Hurry,” the man muttered, “or I might find it quicker to simply put a couple of bullets in your heads.”
Ava wrapped the tape around Beth’s wrists, nodding when the job was done. The man gestured for Beth to sit on the floor. “Do her legs, too,” he said.
When she had completed the job to his satisfaction, he turned his attention to Ava.
“Turn around,” he growled. “Put your hands behind your back.”
She knew she shouldn’t comply. She knew she should fight. But the sight of the gun in his hand—it looked so cold and so deadly—paralyzed her with fear. So she obeyed.
The ripping sound of the tape and the sticky feel of it against her skin made her heart race.
I’m helpless, Ava thought. Helpless.
The man seemed to hear her words as if she’d spoken aloud. Instead of ordering her to sit beside Beth, he spun Ava around so that she faced him. His gaze roamed over her body, and Ava cringed at the lascivious look in his eyes.
“You’re certainly a sweet treat,” he said. “I plan to take all the jewelry and money in this store, but maybe I’ll take you, too.”
Ava backed away until she felt a cold, concrete wall at her back. The man advanced on her, his eyes glittering. When he reached her, he pressed his body against hers, and she could feel his hardness against her leg. She had to turn her head to prevent herself from gagging.
He was so close that she could smell his breath, redolent of peanuts and chocolate milk.
Then he reached out a hand and grabbed her breast, squeezing it painfully. Beth’s gasp echoed in the room. Ava had to force herself to not retch at the revulsion she felt. She mentally berated herself for not reaching for her knife before he had tied her hands, even though she knew a knife would never have been enough against the gun he held. In an instant every horror story she’d ever heard about sexual assault and rape went through her mind. She sobbed and closed her eyes, preparing herself to face the abuse the man had planned for her.
Suddenly, in an instant, the man’s hand was gone. Ava kept her eyes squeezed tightly shut, not wanting to see what the man was doing. She heard a shuffling noise. A grunt. Then she heard a bump and a thud. Fearfully, she opened her eyes, unsure what she would see.
The man lay on the floor, unconscious. Beside him stood Todd. He stared at the man on the floor, his expression one of dark fury. Then he glanced at Ava and the crease in his brow relaxed, and his eyes filled with worry. He strode quickly toward her and gathered her in his arms. “Are you okay?” he asked. She could hear the concern in his voice.
And the love.
Ava nodded, leaning against the comfort of his hard body. Tears started to stream down her cheeks as she considered the fate that might have been in store for her. “He had a gun,” she gulped. “He could have killed you.”
“I know,” Todd said. “But I wasn’t going to let him hurt you.”
The man’s motionless body lay on the floor. Ava was tempted to kick it. “Did you kill him?” she asked.
Todd shook his head. “I just knocked him out for a little while,” he answered. He went to Beth and removed the tape from her hands and feet. For the first time ever, Ava saw that Beth was speechless.
“You should probably call the police,” Todd said, gently.
Beth nodded. “I’ll do that,” she said, and slowly left the storeroom. Ava could see that Beth’s legs were shaky and her gait was hesitant.
Todd turned his attention back to Ava, stroking her cheek with the tips of his fingers. Her breathing had just begun to slow, but it quickened again when her gaze met Todd’s dark eyes.
“I guess I should untie your hands,” he said softly.
She nodded, unable to speak.
“But I kind of like you tied up,” he said with a loving smile.
Ava remained silent. He gently reached behind her and removed the tape from her wrists, slowly peeling it away so the adhesive wouldn’t hurt her skin. Then he grabbed her shoulders and turned her to face him, his eyes questioning.
In that moment she knew. Knew that he loved her. Knew that she loved him. Knew that she would never marry his brother.
“You’re mine now,” Todd said. “You know that, right?”
Ava fell into his arms, her mouth open and willing for the kiss he gave her. She pressed herself against his hard body, already feeling the passion that built inside her as his tongue sought hers. She quivered as Todd’s hand stroked her breast, his touch light with possession.
“Yes,” she said, breaking their kiss. “I’m yours. And only yours.”
And, in her heart, she knew it was the truth.
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A Picture of Desire Page 3