“No. I’ve got this.” My heart beats, pulsing with the need to explain to Eve that she’s safe. But I can’t do that. Not yet. I hand Knox the knife, afraid of accidentally slicing her delicate skin.
Knox wipes the blood away on the cuff of his pants and grips the knife as his head swivels, looking for threats.
There are eyes in every corner and ears hidden in the walls. There’s not one bit of privacy in this godforsaken place, and for every bug we remove in the suite, we return to two, or three, more. No doubt there will be more in the suite when we arrive.
For the duration of the night, until our team gets here, I must continue to be Eve’s tormentor.
Eve stiffens as she comes back around. She goes from limp to squirming in less than a second.
“Put me down, you scum-sucking perv.”
A smile tugs at the corner of my lips. Damn if I don’t like the way she fights.
It has nothing to do with the vile things I told Benefield. I’m not into that kind of shit, but give me a woman with spunk, who’s not afraid to face her challenges head on, and I’m smitten.
Smitten is a funny word, but it fits.
She squirms again, kicks her feet and tries to punch my back.
Aware of all the eyes watching our progress, I smack her hard on the ass.
“Stop squirming.”
“You vile pig. You despicable worthless excuse of a man…”
“Is that really the way you want to start? By calling me names? Sorry, Eve, but sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never harm me.”
“Seriously?” She squirms again. This time, she plants her bound hands on the small of my back and tries to buck off my shoulder.
That’s not happening.
Knox chuckles beside me. The shithead is having fun with this. He knows how I feel about Eve and the uncanny attraction which pulls me to her.
“Laugh it up, fuzzball.” I give him a look.
“You have to admit—it’s funny.”
“Not funny at all.”
Knox shrugs as Eve’s seething anger keeps her tiny fists pummeling the small of my back.
“Keep doing that, Eve. I like a good massage.”
She continues to kick and buck in her shackles as I carry her over my shoulder to the suite. Anger spews from her mouth, vile obscenities directed at me.
I lied.
Her words hurt. They dig deep and wrap around my heart, squeezing it with regret and shame. This woman hates me.
Probably time to nip this in the bud.
Coming to an abrupt stop, I lift her off my shoulder and place her against the wall. Knowing cameras watch every move, I lean in close, crowding her in.
“Fight me, if you want, but I like it.” I cup her chin and force her to look at me. Her eyes burn hot with rage. “Kick and scream. Hit me if you like. All you’ll do is wear yourself out and turn me on. If you want to make it through this, stay by my side.” She won’t understand why, but some part of me hopes she can see through this disgusting ruse.
Eve’s shoulders twitch. Dried tears streak down her face. I continue, putting on a show for Benefield.
“If you harm me, or my bodyguard, I will make you pay. If you run and force me to chase you, I will hunt you down and hurt you.”
Those words twist my insides. It’s not fair that she doesn’t know, but Knox is right. Eve’s safety depends on her belief that I’m a monster.
I tilt my head. “Any questions?”
“I hate you.”
The point of this display in the halls is to scare her with threats of what I could do, rather than resorting to hitting her outright. Benefield expects physical violence, but he appreciates the subtlety of instilling fear.
Only, I know I’ll never hit Eve. She believes the lies I’ve told, and Eve reacts to the truth in her head. She flinches when I move in, terrified of what I will do to her.
“I expect nothing less, but there will come a time when that’s no longer the case.” At least that’s what I hope.
“You’re wrong. There’s nothing you can do that will make me change my mind.”
“We’ll see about that. Now, do you want to walk to my suite, or shall I carry you?” I keep my gaze fixed to her face, avoiding looking at her nakedness. I don’t think she notices, but that’s not the point. I don’t do it to impress her. I do it because it’s the right thing to do.
Her eyes flash as she stares me down.
This line I walk is precarious at best. I must scare and subdue her with verbal threats instead of using my fists. I don’t want to hit her, but if I must, there will be no hesitation on my part. There’s an audience expecting just that.
The next few hours are critical. Benefield will have certain expectations. I need to deliver on those without crossing a line with Eve that I can never recover from.
“Walk or carry. Your choice.”
Her strength and resilience make my heart swell. The stubbornness in her expression makes me want to cheer.
So much strength.
I’m proud of Eve, and I know she’ll survive this tragedy.
“I’ll walk.” Her teeth grind together as her attention shifts between me and Knox.
“Fine.” I gesture down the hall. “To my suite then.”
Eve takes one step. Her leg gives way and I catch her before she falls. Her hands go to her calf and my eyes follow.
Hard, contracted; the muscle of her calf cramps. Gently, I lower her to the floor and place my fingers on the back of her calf.
Eve jerks out of my grip, but I simply grab her leg and drag her in front of me.
“You’ve got a charley horse. Let me…”
“Don’t touch me.” Eve yanks her leg, but I’m much stronger.
“Let me help you.” I grip her foot and gently flex it up.
Eve screams in pain, but I don’t let up.
“You’ve got to stretch it, keep pressure on the muscle until it fatigues and relaxes.”
“It hurts. It hurts so much.” She wraps her hands around mine and huffs against the pain. Rock hard, the cramp is a bad one.
Knox stands guard over us. To this point, we’ve been left alone. My guess is Benefield is not done with Eve. He will try to take her back.
I kneel beside her, putting pressure on her calf muscle while simultaneously flexing her foot. Slowly, the muscle gives up. It relaxes and her pain fades.
Eve looks up at me, relief and gratitude fill her face, but they’re wiped away with blinding fear.
I’m sorry, Eve, but you don’t need to fear me.
I wish I could tell her, explain who I am, but I can’t. All I can do is offer her a hand up.
Eve looks at my hand like it’s a poisonous snake that will bite her. I give a shake of my head.
“Sometimes, an offered hand is simply that. Someone reaching out to help you stand on your own.” She won’t understand the subtext behind my words, but it doesn’t matter.
I do.
Eve takes my hand reluctantly and I pull her to her feet. She takes one shaky step before I shake my head.
“You’re in no condition to stand, let alone walk.” I glance at the manacles shackling her wrists. “Give me your hands.”
Eve wobbles on her feet, looking like she’s going to tip over any second while I pull out the key from my pocket.
She doesn’t lift her wrists for me. I move to stand in front of her and take her left hand in mine. While she watches closely, I unlock the manacles by touch alone, keeping my gaze locked to hers.