King's Ransom. Jackie Ashenden
what she’d got herself into. And, for the first time, wariness crept into her gaze.
It wasn’t fear, but I’d take wariness and about fucking time.
She’d been curled up in my arms, all warm and soft, relaxing as if I was her own personal hero all set to save her. And that shit wasn’t happening. Not when I wasn’t anyone’s goddamn hero.
Especially not when all I could think about was that tempting mouth of hers with that fascinating little mole just above her top lip. I wanted to kiss it. I wanted to lick it. I wanted to bite her bottom lip then suck gently on it, watch it get even redder and fuller than it was already.
Not that I would. She might be proving to be unexpectedly tempting, but I had a plan and I wasn’t going to deviate from it. Not when her continued virginity was such an important part.
She stared at me, that mesmerising energy she threw off still crackling all around her.
It was good that she was wary. Because I was dangerous.
Everyone treated me with caution, the more nervous giving me a wide berth. It was a reputation I cultivated because if there was one thing Dad had taught me, it was that fear kept people in line better than being nice ever did.
And people had to fear me. I didn’t want another Augustus King rising in this city and fear of what I might do to any pretenders to Dad’s empty throne kept the more ambitious at bay.
‘So,’ Imogen said, her long delicate fingers clutching at her seat belt. ‘This is fun.’ Then she had the gall to smile—a bit uncertain but a smile nonetheless. ‘Do I get to know where you’re taking me? And what you want with me? What about Dad? Won’t he be—’
I put a finger across her velvety pink mouth, silencing her, purely because I could.
Her eyes widened.
She looked ridiculously cute swamped by my jacket, with the cap pulled down over her pale hair, staring at me with those big green eyes.
I could still feel the imprint of her in my arms, the warmth of her body nestled against my chest. She’d rested there so quietly, yet I’d felt that live wire quality to her, a subtle vibration that had somehow crawled under my skin and stayed there. It made me think that she wasn’t the fragile little thing she’d first seemed. Certainly, when she’d pulled at my hand back up there in the bathroom, there had been a surprising strength to her grip. And even now, after I’d kidnapped her, I could see a glimmer of determination beneath the wariness in her gaze.
Curiosity flickered into life inside me, smouldering alongside the undeniable physical attraction. But I crushed both. Hard. She was a tool, a means to an end, and I couldn’t afford any distractions, not now.
‘We’re going to my house.’ I let my finger linger on her lips a fraction, to show her I meant business. Nothing to do with how soft they felt. ‘And I’m going to keep you there a little while.’
Her mouth turned up, giving me a smile that had no hesitancy in it whatsoever, the wariness draining from her clear gaze.
And for a second I didn’t quite know what to do with that. I was her father’s mortal enemy. She had to know who I was—what I was. She should be cringing in fear, not giving me bright smiles like I was her best friend.
‘Yay.’ Her lips moved against my finger, brushing against my skin, the warmth of her breath making me catch mine. ‘I was hoping you’d say that. Where do you live?’
Yay? What the fuck? And why the hell was I breathless? Luckily, physical attraction was the easiest appetite to control so I controlled it.
I dropped my finger. ‘That doesn’t concern you right—’
‘What kind of house do you have? Does it have a pool? Is it by the sea?’
‘It’s not—’
‘Can I go outside? Does it have a view?’
‘You’re not going to—’
‘How long can I stay? Will you be there?’ Her eyes were glittering with excitement and there was a flush in her pale cheeks, the live wire spitting sparks.
You’d think I’d just promised her the trip of a lifetime, not that I was going to hold her prisoner until her father did what I wanted.
Losing patience, I stared hard at her. ‘Interrupt me again and there’ll be hell to pay.’
Her lips pressed together obediently, but her eyes didn’t lose that excited sparkle. She didn’t even have the grace to look ashamed of herself. ‘I’m sorry. I always talk when I’m nervous.’ Then, clearly picking up on my irritation, she added, ‘I didn’t interrupt this time.’
‘This is a kidnapping. You do understand that, don’t you?’
She laughed. ‘I know. And?’
Laughing. She’d been kidnapped and now she was laughing. And, even worse, the husky, joyful sound sent a hot pulse down my spine, jump-starting something inside me. Something that had been dead a long time.
Shit. Just what I didn’t want.
I ignored the feeling and scowled. ‘You should be frightened of me.’
An arrested expression crossed her face, as if the thought had never occurred to her. ‘Should I? I mean, I was a bit unsure a moment ago. But...’ Her forehead creased. ‘Do you want me to be?’
The thing that had sprung to life inside me burned, her complete lack of fear for some reason more powerful than any aphrodisiac.
Dammit. I wasn’t looking to be attracted to her, for fuck’s sake. That kind of shit only got in the way and I was not looking for distractions right now. Not that I ever had. My own desires were irrelevant when I had a goal in mind and I let nothing distract me from that goal.
Including the bolt of electricity in human form sitting next to me.
I fixed her with a ‘don’t fuck with me’ look. ‘Anyone ever tell you that you ask too many questions?’
The colour in her cheeks deepened. ‘Kind of.’
‘Listen. You know who I am. You must have heard the rumours. They’re all true, understand? And yes, you should be scared. Because you have no idea what I’m going to do with you when I get you home.’
‘What are you going to do with me?’ She didn’t sound as if it worried her. At all.
Christ. If ever a woman needed a lesson in proper kidnapping etiquette, it was this one.
I leaned forward fractionally, letting my physical size intimidate her. ‘I’m going to ruin you, little one. That’s what I’m going to do.’
Or at least I would if her father didn’t do what I wanted.
Far from being intimidated, though, Imogen only frowned. As if I’d handed her a fascinating puzzle to work out. ‘Ruin me? Like...how?’
This was ridiculous. Did I really have to explain a sexual threat?
‘Like this...’ I reached out again and this time I brushed my thumb along her lower lip to illustrate my point, because the day I had to explain myself was the day I’d hand in my scary motherfucker badge.
Her mouth was just as soft and warm as it had been when I’d touched it not a minute or so earlier, and the burning thing in my gut flamed like a fucking firework.
Mistake. You shouldn’t touch her.
Bullshit. I didn’t make mistakes and I wasn’t a damn fifteen-year-old boy touching a woman for the first time. I could control myself. She had a pretty mouth but that was all. Pretty mouths were a dime a dozen and if I wanted one that badly, I’d find one. Later.
Her eyes went huge as I touched her. ‘Oh...’ The word was warm, exhaled against