Total pages in book: 60
Estimated words: 53764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53764 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 269(@200wpm)___ 215(@250wpm)___ 179(@300wpm)
"Open the goddamn door, Natalie."
She licked her lips and took a deep breath, preparing her voice to be strong. "No way."
"You've got thirty seconds to think about it. I'm going to go take the fucking aspirin and come back with the key to this door. Trust me when I tell you things will be better for you if you unlock it yourself."
Natalie heard him move away from the door and her mind raced while very real horror began to set in. What the hell had she done? What the hell should she do now?
She wasn't unlocking the door, she knew that much. But whatever she did, she needed to decide in the next few seconds.
She needed to be calm. She needed to be in control and unafraid, or at least appear to be. After all--a wild animal was more prone to attack if it scented fear. She moved to sit in the middle of the bed and picked up the magazine she'd been planning to read later, as if she didn't have a care in the world. And suddenly it hit her that the last place she wanted to be cornered was on the bed. Or even in a bedroom.
She flew to the door and unlocked it, preparing to leave the room for the relative safety of the living room.
Marco stood in the entrance of her bedroom, and the forward motion of her body propelled her torso within inches of clashing with his. She came to a skidding halt. Had he been standing there the whole time? Both fear and anger dominated her emotions. "You tricked me. You don't have a key." She began to push past him.
"Asshole? You called me asshole?" he hissed, as a vein on the side of his neck twitched, hostility seething from his body as he blocked her attempt to move past him.
Chapter Five
A chill hung in the air at his words and Natalie's features hardened in response, both from his anger and from the fear trickling through her veins that she was determined to control. "You lied to me. There's no key."
She moved to brush past him again and he continued to block her retreat with his body. "I have a key." His voice was dangerously contemptuous as he lifted the key in front of her face and then quickly pocketed it before his hands fell to her shoulders, holding her firmly in place.
"It's not really my room if you have a key to it," she snapped, attempting to move back from his touch, but his fingers bit into her shoulders harder, holding her in place.
"It's not your room. It's where I allow you to sleep." His voice was an angry sneer, the words gritted through bared teeth.
"Let me go," she said shakily, attempting to move away from him.
"Be still," he hissed. There was a threat in his voice and it effectively stilled her movements, but she glared at him before her eyes dropped away from his.
"Don't threaten me," she said in an angry whisper. "I swear--I'll call 911." She felt his touch stiffen on her shoulders and then he lifted one hand from her and slowly put it in his pocket.
"You'll need your phone for that." His words carried a hint of sarcasm as he pulled her phone from his pocket where he must have picked it up after she left it in the kitchen. He tossed it a few feet and it landed on her bed.
His hand moved back to her shoulder and Natalie went completely silent as she shut her eyes.
They stood like that for a few seconds, and she tried her best not to tremble, but it was impossible. He was too close, his skin was too warm, and she knew he could feel the shaky movements of her body.
He placed a single finger under her chin and lifted her face to his. Her eyes remained mutinously closed. "Open your eyes," he demanded.
It was only a small measure of defiance, but Natalie waited a few seconds before she slowly lifted her lids and found him staring down at her, way too close for her comfort. His eyes, although bloodshot, were a deep, chocolate brown, and as they bore into hers, it was with an effort that Natalie kept her gaze on him.
"I don't need the kind of shit you just pulled." His finger and thumb bit into her chin. "There are a couple of things you need to learn about me, and quickly. I don't respond well to threats or temper tantrums. Tears don't affect me--ever." His eyes searched hers and then he finished through gritted teeth, "I never apologize."
He continued to study her face and the emotional upheaval suddenly took a toll on Natalie and her will to continue fighting him disappeared. Her body trembled and her torso bent, her pelvis finding purchase against his thighs as she gave up and let her weight fall against him. His eyes flared in response, and he moved his hands from her shoulders, sliding one arm around her waist to bear the brunt of her weight, and the other sliding over her cheek, into her hair where he gripped her scalp, lifting her face to his.