“And as soon as you stop wasting both of our time, I’ll be putting one on Anna’s.”
Knox contemplated me for a few moments, his eyes searching my face. He must have found what he was looking for because he grabbed a slip of paper and scrawled something on it before holding it out for me to take.
I glanced down to see a web address and a string of letters and numbers. “Our security feed is on an airtight, secured network. But that address will take you there, and the password will get you in.” He speared me with an intense look and added, “There is a log of anyone who accesses the site. If I think for a second that you’ve given it out or even lost this information, I won’t hesitate to have Drew lock your ass up. No matter how much our wives enjoy your show.”
With a nod of understanding, I folded the paper—almost reverently—and slipped it into my wallet. “Thank you.”
Knox’s mouth kicked up on one side into a crooked smile. “Don’t thank me yet. Access to the security feeds won’t magically make Anna fall for you. Oh, and by the way”—he pointed a finger at me—“you have forty-eight hours before I nullify that password. I suggest you dance your magical twinkle toes out of here and work on making a ring mysteriously appear on your woman’s finger.”
“Says the man wearing lipstick,” I quipped. “I have to say, it’s not really your shade. Maybe you should compare it with your stilettos next time you dress up.”
“I’m not the one wearing rhinestones, sequins, and sparkles.”
I didn’t have time to stand around trading insults all day, so I spun around and flipped him the bird as I marched from his office.
Being forced to wait until after my show to start hunting Anna grated on my nerves. I would never let it affect my performance, but I snapped at my assistants and a stagehand or two. I owed some people apologies, but I’d get to it after I handled Anna.
It was late, so it wasn’t like I could go running off after her right then. I was too keyed up to sleep, though, and since I knew she didn’t live on-site, I used the time to go through the footage and determine her schedule. Thankfully, she was a creature of habit, which meant I knew exactly what time and which entrance she arrived at in the morning. I managed to catch a few hours of sleep, but I was up and at the hotel an hour before she was due. It seemed she liked to arrive before most of the staff to get some work done in a quiet office.
I indebted myself to Knox a little more when I had him look into her calendar so I knew if she had meetings. She was free and clear today, so I set myself up in one of the empty cubicles out of her view.
While I waited, I played out several scenarios in my head. My favorites were the ones that ended up with her sprawled across her desk and my head buried between her thighs. However, on the opposite end of that spectrum were the ones where she tried to run from me. I wouldn’t lock Anna in a box again, but I came fully prepared to take her away, kicking and screaming if I had to, since it wasn’t as though security was going to stop me. I’d secured a suite at the hotel so I had easy access to a place where I could lock her sexy ass up until she understood that she belonged to me.
4
Anna
I was cranky as I walked into the office the morning after Julian’s little kidnapping stunt, and he was entirely to blame for my unusually bad mood. Beating everyone to work so I could get a head start before things got crazy was my favorite way to start the day, but I’d had to drag my butt out of bed after spending the night tossing and turning. Every time I drifted off to sleep, I dreamed that I was back in Julian’s dressing room. But instead of ending our kiss and storming out, I fell into it.
All the dirty things I had fantasized about were still in my head when I walked into my office. When the man who had starred in each and every one appeared in my doorway as soon as I set my purse on top of my desk, I assumed I’d resorted to daydreaming about him too. I didn’t realize he wasn’t a figment of my imagination until his fingers wrapped around my wrist to tug me around my desk. “Hey! Stop that!”
“Sure.” The sexy grin he flashed me sent a shiver up my spine, even as I narrowed my eyes at him.
“Sure?” I echoed suspiciously as he released my wrist. I hadn’t been expecting the guy who’d kidnapped me to give in so easily.
“Yup.” His green eyes swept down my body before he slid his arm around my waist. “But only so I can do this instead.”
My response was captured by his mouth when he took advantage of my parted lips to kiss my thoughts right out of my brain. By the time he lifted his head, I could barely breathe, let alone remember what I’d planned to say. I shook my head to clear it and pushed at his chest. He didn’t budge an inch, so I took a step back. If I wanted to have any hope of dealing with Julian, I needed a little space. It was too hard to think when he was near.
“You can’t just run around kidnapping women from your audience and kissing them whenever you want.” I refrained from mentioning how I’d react if I found out he’d pulled something similar with another woman. He didn’t need to know that his kidnapping of me would be tame in comparison because then he’d use my unreasonable jealousy—an emotion I’d never experienced before Addilyn had mentioned how other women reacted to Julian—against me.
His lips curved up in a smug grin as he leaned his hip against my desk. “Now that I’ve finally got your attention, there’s no need for me to kidnap you during one of my shows.”
I appreciated how his response—and all his attention—were focused on me. It soothed the newly discovered green-eyed monster inside me. But that didn’t mean I was going to cut him any slack.
My schedule was wide open today, but I wasn’t about to admit that to Julian. He struck me as the kind of man who’d take more than a mile if you gave him an inch. “Sorry, but you won’t have my attention for long because I have a busy day ahead of me. Lots of meetings, calls to make, and reports to finish.”
“That decides it then.” He closed the small gap between us.
I had no idea what he was talking about, but I doubted that the resolve in his eyes boded well for me. “What decides what?” I asked, pushing my palms against his chest.
“You’ve left me no choice.” I yelped as he bent low, pressed his shoulder against my stomach, and lifted me off the ground. “I’m not about to let you run from me again.”
“Wait! I thought you said you weren’t going to kidnap me anymore,” I cried out as he carried me out of my office.
Stalking toward the hallway that would take us to the elevator for the guest floors, he disagreed, “I didn’t say I’d never kidnap you again.”
My brow wrinkled as I tried to focus on our conversation. Between hanging upside down and his mind-numbing kiss from earlier, I couldn’t recall exactly how he’d worded it. “But—”
“Since this isn’t one of my shows, I’m not going back on what I said.” He punctuated his statement with a light swat against my butt. I gasped, jerking up my head and twisting my neck so I could glare at him as he pressed the button for the twenty-fifth floor.