by Kiera Silver
She went into the room they had assigned her and threw herself on the bed, casting a grumpy look in Connor’s direction when he slammed the door behind her a moment later before engaging the padlock. She might have been thwarted in this attempt, but she wasn’t done trying, and not by a longshot. The brothers had no idea what they had started when they kidnapped her. She might not be physically intimidating, but she came with an entire contingent of mafia family at her back. Once her father and brothers realized she had been kidnapped, they would bring hell down on Euan and Connor. They wouldn’t stop until they had her back, and they’d do anything required to get her.
She should have felt a surge of smug satisfaction at the idea, but instead, she was alarmed to feel slightly worried on their behalf. “Idiot,” she said aloud to the empty room, fully directing the aspersion at herself. Maybe it had just been too long since she’d had a boyfriend, but whatever the reason, she had to nip this attraction in the bud before it got out of hand and worsened an already intolerable situation.
Chapter Four
She didn’t see Euan again that day or night. Connor brought her food and answered her summons for the bathroom each time she made it. As she was returning to her room near bedtime, she shot him a cautious look. “Is your brother okay?”
He sneered. “Like you care.”
She bit her lip. “I do. I shouldn’t, but I do. Does he have a concussion?”
“Probably a little one, but I doubt it’s going to kill him.”
She was surprised he gave the grudging answer, figuring he would have just left her in the dark. “Can you tell him I’m sorry? I shouldn’t be, and I should be gloating that he fell for the trick, but I am sorry I hit him with the lamp.”
They were at her door now, but he didn’t push her across the threshold yet so he could lock it. “Is that all you’re sorry for, princess?”
She frowned, allowing her confusion to show. “What else have I done to be sorry about?”
“Aren’t you sorry you kissed him and tried to seduce him into letting you go? Don’t you realize how utterly crazy that was? Aren’t you sorry for that too?”
As she stared at him, honesty prompted her to reply, though she was sure it would have been smarter to tell a lie. Any lie. “No.”
He arched a brow. “You aren’t sorry you tried to seduce him? Did you really think he was going to let you go if you had sex with him?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “I wasn’t thinking much at all there toward the end before you interrupted us.”
Connor snorted. “Don’t try to pretend like you actually want him. I know you were just manipulating him.”
She lifted a shoulder. “I was trying, but it didn’t work.” She decided she’d shared enough, and there was no reason to tell him, to reveal her own weakness, by sharing she had gotten swept up in the kiss too.
He leaned closer to her, his posture menacing as his lips neared hers. “Aren’t you going to try your tactic with me?”
She shook her head.
He frowned. “What, you’re not attracted to this abductor?” He asked the question mockingly, leaving her no doubt he still thought she had simply been playing his brother.
“Would it work if I tried?” She asked the question in a hard tone.
He lifted a shoulder. “Are you asking if I’ll let you go if you give me a kiss? If you press those pretty lips to mine, do you really think I’ll let you go?”
She shook her head. “I think you’re far more ruthless than Euan, and you’d never let me go.”
He moved rapidly, pulling her against his chest as he buried his hand in her long hair, now a tangled mess since she had no comb. It had been an oversight on someone’s part. “You have that right, princess. I’d never let you go.”
He was supposed to be referring to the kidnapping, but she wasn’t entirely sure that was all he was talking about. The way his eyes widened, and the green in his eyes seemed to darken, she was certain he was suddenly aroused and thinking about her in a way he hadn’t anticipated. His rush of desire fueled her own, and her nipples beaded. She shifted restlessly in his arms, uncertain if she was trying to escape or simply wanted more contact.
“You can’t seduce me into letting you leave, so don’t even try.” He uttered the words so closely to her mouth that his lips brushed hers in a parody of a kiss.
“You’re the one who started this. I didn’t even try to seduce you.”
His hand tightened briefly in her hair, tugging almost enough to bring tears to her eyes, but then the pain went away as soon as he released her, pushing her hard enough to make her stumble back a few steps. “I just wanted you to know where you stand with me. Don’t try any of your games again on either one of us.”
She glared at him. “I won’t give up trying to escape.”
He rolled his eyes, clearly unimpressed by her words. “Just stay where you’re put, and get used to it. Good night, princess.”
She hurled a curse word at him as he slammed the door, engaging the lock a moment later. He was an arrogant, insufferable bastard, and if she didn’t already hate him for holding her captive, she would have loathed him for his cockiness and arrogant certainty that he could withstand her attempt at seduction and would never let her go.
Not that she planned to try to seduce him. Euan had been different. He seemed gentler, and she had honestly thought there was a slight chance the plan might work, a bit of quid pro quo—trading her body for her freedom. It hadn’t seemed like too big of a sacrifice at the time, especially when his arms had gone around her, and their lips had met.
It would be completely different with Connor. He was raw and primal, and she had a feeling he would be domineering and probably not terribly gentle. He certainly wouldn’t be swayed by her clumsy attempts to seduce him, and if she fell into the experience as she had with Euan earlier in the day, she’d end up in bed with him and no closer to being free. She couldn’t allow that to happen, so she’d simply have to hold in her reactions and maintain firm control over the bewildering desire she felt for her abductors.
They woke her early the next morning with a camera again. She glared up at them from the bed. “Can’t this wait until I actually wake up for the day?”
“No, because you look rougher, like we’ve been mistreating you, when we wake you up in the middle of the night.”
She reached for the white board Euan held out, but froze when he didn’t give it to her. “Can we get this over with so I can go back to sleep?”
“Things are a little different this time, princess.” Conner gestured to the black long-sleeved T-shirt she still wore. “Take up off your top.”
Sophia scowled at him and crossed her arms over her chest. “No way. You’re out of your mind.”
“Do it, or we’ll do it for you.”
Her eyes widened at the hard tone Euan took, which seemed contrary to what she would have expected. She was surprised to find herself feeling a little hurt by his manner as much as the demand. She shook her head. “Not until you tell me why.”
Connor slipped the iPhone into his pocket as he approached the bed. “Because we said so. That’s good enough for you.”
She batted his hands away when he reached for the hem of her T-shirt. “That’s not good enough for me. I want the full explanation of what you have against Croft, and why you’ve dragged me into the middle of it. I’m not going to cooperate unless I know what’s going on.”
Connor just shrugged, basically ignoring her words as he climbed onto the bed, straddling her so she couldn’t get up. She lashed out at him and tried to twist away, but he soon had the T-shirt off and tossed it aside. She glared at him.
“Hand me the whiteboard.” After Euan passed it over, Connor nodded to her wrist, which he held above her head. “Hold her hands.”
His fingers went to the front of her bra, pushing it up over her breasts. She screamed her outrage and tried to fight again, but Euan had a good grasp on her wrists, and Connor was weighing down he
r lower body. The whiteboard pressed under her breasts and against her stomach as Connor positioned it before taking the picture.
As soon as the phone disappeared back into his pocket, he swung off her and nodded to Euan. A moment later, her hands were free, and she immediately pulled down her bra. “What the hell is that all about? You’re planning to send that picture to Croft, aren’t you?” She shuddered at the idea of Victor having a picture of her breasts under any context. What he would do with it.… She shuddered again.
Neither one of them acted like they had just held her down and forced her to take off her shirt for the picture. Connor was already headed to the door, and Euan paused long enough to hand her the shirt, wrinkling his nose. “I never thought to get you any clothes when I was shopping, but I’ll grab some stuff for you today.” He looked at the tag, as though noting her size, before fully extending the shirt.
She refused to say thank you, figuring that was the least they could do. She did ask him though, “Do I have to go through this every morning?”
He looked regretful, but nodded. “For a while.”
Sensing his vulnerability, she tried to leverage it into pity. “Why won’t you just tell me what’s going on here? I haven’t done anything. I’m a victim, and you’re treating me terribly.”
Euan blinked, but he didn’t reply. He just made his way to the door, calling over his shoulder, “I’ll bring you some breakfast in a few hours, and I’ll have some clothes then too.”
She glared after them for a long moment before closing her eyes and trying to fall back to sleep. Considering how tired she was, and how early it must be in the morning, it was a surprisingly difficult task to accomplish. She laid awake for at least another hour, worrying about what they had done and what they planned to do. Sleep was a long time returning.
Euan returned several hours later, as he’d promised. Once again, he had a breakfast tray in one hand. He also held a white plastic sack in another hand. He seemed like the nicer version of himself again when he held out her breakfast.
She took it and put it on the table beside her, but didn’t open it yet. “Will you please just tell me what’s going on, Euan? Why did you have me get half-naked this morning? It wasn’t right. Did you ever think maybe I’d help you if I know what’s going on? I have no reason to like Croft either.”
He frowned. “We want Victor in a desperate state, where he’s willing to leave behind most of his goons. That’s going to take some escalation on our part, and unfortunately on yours too.”
She rolled her eyes. “There’s no need to be so cryptic.” She patted the bed beside her. “You can tell me what’s going on. Who am I going to tell?”
He just shrugged. “I’ll have to discuss it with Connor before I can tell you anything.”
“Is Connor the boss of you?” She asked the comment in a snarky tone, but also hoping to goad him into proving wrong the supposition by blurting out the information she wanted.
Instead, he just chuckled. “You’re good. You’re fairly manipulative, but still somehow innocent. It’s a strange combination. Just so you know, you aren’t going to be able to drive a wedge between me and my brother, because we’re a team. I’ll talk to him and see what he thinks about telling you everything, since we now know you’re no fan of Victor Croft either. Until then, be a good girl and eat your breakfast.” He wrinkled his nose as he rustled the plastic sack. “And maybe change your clothes.”
Before she could think better of it, she picked up one of the strawberries on the tray and threw it at him. “It’s not my fault you didn’t give me any clean clothes before now.”
With a cocky maneuver that was more reminiscent of Connor than what she’d seen of Euan’s characteristics thus far, he caught the strawberry in midair and popped it in his mouth with a hint of carelessness. “A simple oversight. There’s also a comb in there. I guess I must’ve forgotten that too. It might take a while to repair all that.” The hand he waved clearly encompassed her head.
Self-consciously, she patted her dark hair as she glared up at him. “You’re a jackass.”
With another chuckle, he strode to the door and let himself out, pausing just long enough to say, “Guilty as charged.” Then the door closed behind him, and the lock engaged.
She was startled by the urge to laugh. The exchange should have left her angry, or perhaps even fearful of their still unknown intentions, rather than on the verge of laughing at his antics. The whole exchange had more of an air of flirtation than anything else. It was pure insanity to be flirting with her captors when she knew neither one of them was going to be swayed into letting her go through that avenue. There was no reason for it, so why didn’t she stop?
She considered the answer to that as she finished breakfast and hopped in the shower after pounding on the door to be escorted to the restroom. She couldn’t come to an answer, at least not one that satisfied her, or one she wanted to explore deeply, so she stopped asking herself the question and shut down that line of thought.
Chapter Five
It had been hours since her breakfast and shower and there’d been no sign of either one of them. She’d had enough of being ignored and locked in the room, so she pounded on the door continuously for at least a half-hour before giving up. She sank to the floor, certain they had left her alone in the house.
It was a scary thought, because if there was a fire, how would she escape? It was also just terrifying to be locked in this room with only a box of granola bars and a few bottles of water in the small fridge, with no idea if or when they’d be returning. She could starve to death or die of dehydration before they returned. If they returned. Maybe they’d gotten whatever they wanted from Croft, and they had just left her there with no concern about what might happen to her.
Tears burned behind her eyes, and she buried her face against her knees, struggling to hold back the urge to cry. It was unproductive, but it was certainly tempting to give in. There was no one there to witness her emotional breakdown, and there might not be again. She could die here alone.
She had worked herself into quite a state by the time she heard the lock unclick. The door started to open, and she scooted out of the way as quickly as possible to avoid being rammed by it. She was in the corner behind the door, and the room was full of shadows in the late afternoon as twilight approached. She couldn’t identify which brother it was for a moment as the door closed behind him, but she was just grateful to see another living person.
That gratitude morphed to anger as she remembered the fear that had consumed her a few moments ago. Before she could think better of it, she threw herself at his legs, hitting him solidly and taking him down like she’d been playing football all her life. She did have three older brothers, but they were significantly older, so they hadn’t done much wrestling with her. They’d mostly just treated her indulgently and been sweet to her. She was used to being coddled by the men in her life, and to have the brothers treating her this way enraged her.
As she climbed onto the one she’d knocked down, who groaned and touched his head, she started to pound on Connor’s chest, recognizing him as she got closer. “How dare you leave me alone in here? I could die if there was a fire, or if you didn’t return I’d also die. You have no right to keep me here, and you certainly don’t have a right to endanger my life.”
It took him a moment, and he clearly was a bit dazed. Perhaps he’d hit his head against the floor or the wall when he’d gone down. Soon enough, his hands clamped around her wrist, and he flipped them over to change their position entirely. She was now trapped at his mercy, but the anger in his expression showed he wasn’t feeling particularly merciful. He shook her a little more than gently. “Calm down.”
Tears raced from her eyes, and she couldn’t call them back if she wanted to. She was still compelled by anger and fear, and she continued to struggle against him. “You would have just left me here to die. You’re probably planning to kill me anyway. I don’t have to listen to you. When my b
rothers find me, I’m going to watch as they torture you before they kill you. Hell, I might even kill you myself.”
His anger had visibly grown during her tirade, and suddenly his mouth slammed over hers. It probably started out as an attempt to shut her up, to punish her for her words, but it quickly changed to something else.
She didn’t want to, but her body started to relax and melt into his, and his grip on her wrist loosened some. It would have been the perfect time to wrench away, but she couldn’t get her brain to cooperate with the notion well enough to coordinate her hands to make the movements required. His lips softened on hers, no longer hard or punishing, and when his tongue dipped into her mouth, she didn’t even think about resisting. How could she when she’d almost subconsciously wanted this from the moment she’d met both of them?
As his mouth molded to hers, his tongue tasting every niche of her, Connor gradually released her wrists. She couldn’t push him away, but instead, she wrapped an arm around him and threaded her other hand through his hair to hold him firmly against her. When he began to unbutton her blouse, she made no attempt to stop him. In fact, she writhed underneath him impatiently, pressing against him in an attempt to quench the fire burning inside her.
The clothing Euan had brought her had included new underwear, but no bras. At the time she’d made that discovery, she wasn’t certain if that had been an accidental or deliberate oversight on his part. Either way, she didn’t have an undergarment to impede Connor’s access to her breasts when the shirt yielded and parted, revealing her smooth flesh.
His mouth moved downward, away from her lips almost reluctantly, but as though he was drawn to her breasts and was helpless to fight the impulse.
She moaned when his mouth settled on her, his tongue tracing a pouty nipple before he began to suck carefully, tugging gently with his lips and concentrating every nerve ending in her body on that one sensitive spot. Each rhythmic tug of his lips sent a corresponding pulse through her pussy, and she thrashed against the hard cock nestled between her thighs. If they hadn’t been wearing jeans, they would have already been lovers.