Hitman's Captive: A Bad Boy Romance (12 page)

First terror, then
embarrassment, now boredom? There are worse problems, right?

Even so, it put me in a
foul mood by the end of the day - made even worse by the book I’d finally
continued reading. What had started out dull became more and more horrific, until
I was left terrified and upset by the end, regretting ever picking the thing up
in the first place.

I had just about settled
my frayed nerves when Leo interrupted to ask about dinner. Another takeout -
this time from some Chinese place.

He’d remained distant and
unhelpful all day - not that I’d bothered to pay him the attention to care.
Occasionally he disappeared to make a couple of calls, or got up to pace
irritatingly around the room, but since he wasn’t interested in telling me
anything, I refused to waste my energy being concerned by how on edge he
seemed.

Life under my father’s
strict rules was seeming better by the moment.

It took until we were
headed up to bed again, and I was feeling ready to yell and scream just to
break the static monotone of the day, for him to finally say anything to me.
And what came out when he did, did
not
make anything better.

He picked up the thread
of our earlier conversation as if there hadn’t been a day’s worth of silence in
between. “Jay said the city isn’t safe anymore - whatever I do next, I’ll need
to do it from somewhere else. I’ve spent the day planning things out, and
tomorrow we’ll leave for Chicago.”

“What?!”
My
mouth dropped open and I stared at him, trying to fight the sudden panic. “I’m
not going to Chicago!”

While I was still in New
York, there was a good chance that my father would find me - and I knew this
city. If I somehow managed to escape, I’d be able to work out where I was and
find somewhere safe to go. In Chicago, I didn’t stand a chance - Leo could do
anything to me and no one would ever know.

Breathe.

Leo was giving me an
amused smile, and I knew what he was thinking - it wasn’t like I’d consented to
being here, either. But in my own way it felt like I had when I’d made the
decision to stop trying to escape last night.

“We don’t have much
choice, princess.” The usual cocky humor was in his voice, but I could hear the
weariness underneath it as well, suddenly reminding me of how little sleep we’d
had.

Today hadn’t been easy
for him either, and I didn’t miss the use of the word
we.
It looked like
he didn’t want to leave, either. Maybe that was what had been upsetting him?

Damn it, why do you
care?! If he doesn’t want to leave, he can do whatever the hell he wants -
you’re the hostage here!

“So what about me? You
said you’d let me go as soon as you figured out who wanted Viktor dead - but
now you’re fleeing to Chicago!” I was trying really hard not to exclaim about
this, but I could feel my voice rising at the edges as the fear I’d felt
yesterday came back again.

Leo stepped closer,
almost as if he wanted to reassure me - as stupid as that was. “I said I’d let
you go once I’d sorted this. Whether I sort it here or in Chicago - however it
works out - when it’s done, I’ll let you go.”

I didn’t believe him.
Maybe it had been one thing when he’d thought he could clear it all up here,
but in another city? All that distance away? It simply made no sense not to
take the easy way out - and for a killer like him, it was obvious what that
would be.

“Hell, I’ll even pay for
your ride home. I said I’d let you go, and I meant it, Alessa.” He must have
seen something in my expression, and the words jolted me, something about them
ringing true. Why would he talk logistics if he had no intention of following
through?

Either way, the idea of
leaving still terrified me.

I shook my head. “I have
no reason to believe you’ll keep your word, Leo.”

He paused for a moment,
seeming almost surprised at my suspicion. “I’ve never broken it.”

“Sure thing - you kill
people for a living and take me hostage, but I’m supposed to just accept that
you’re
honest
when you say you’ll let me go?” I scowled up at him.

A muscle twitched in his
jaw as he gritted his teeth, but his eyes were distant, looking beyond me as my
words washed over him. Then he snapped his attention back to me, something grim
and dark in his expression.

He gave an echo of that
cocky smile, but his voice was low when he started speaking. “Okay, princess,
let me give you a reason. Unlike the life you know, growing up on the streets
doesn’t give you much. Or anything, really. Nothing to take pride in, nothing
to care about - so you end up making it for yourself. In yourself. And that was
one thing I gave myself - I made my word iron. Something important about me,
something I could stick to and use to guide me through whatever other shit I
did. Guys got to know about it, too - might have been one of the things that
kept me alive. After all, if I say someone’s dead…that starts meaning
something.”

His words reverberated
through me, and I felt an instinctive horror at the grim picture. I didn’t know
anything about this man - where he’d come from, what he knew. I guess it made
sense, that he grew up on the streets and in gangs. That was how you came to be
a killer, right? But something in me twisted at the knowledge of what his life
had been.

His gaze bored into me,
and I tried not to shudder, the weight of it all pressing down until I didn’t
think I could stand this conversation anymore.

“Is that all you ever
think about - killing and death?” It might not have been the most fair thing to
say after he’d told me something so personal, but it was how I felt.

He blinked at me, and to
my surprise some of the dark intensity from his expression faded and changed,
his mouth curving in that arrogance I’d become used to. As it slipped back over
his face - knowing what I did now of what was underneath - I wondered whether
it was, in part, a mask. Something to disguise the rawness beneath.

His body stepped closer
in one seductive movement, and then his hand was curving around the side of my
face again, tucking my hair away. Despite the horror I’d felt only moments
earlier, I had to fight not to lean into the warm callouses of that hand, my
body wanting to sway forward and feel every hard muscle in evidence under his
shirt.

“Ohh no, princess. I
promise my word is good for more than that.” His eyes lit with a dark heat as
they lingered over my body. “See, if I tell you that I can give you more
pleasure than you ever dreamed possible…that I could make you cum a dozen times
on my hands, mouth, cock…that you only have to ask, and I’ll make you
scream
for me…well, you can be sure that’s all true, too.”

My pulse skyrocketed. No
one had
ever
spoken to me like that before. I dismissed my earlier momentary
thought that the arrogance was a cover for something - no, Leo was just
that
god-damned cocky. Heat flared inside me, followed by a throbbing ache between
my thighs as my mind replayed those seductive, dangerous words.

His mouth hovered inches
from mine, those blue eyes blazing with a lust that matched the burning deep
inside me.

Oh god, oh god, oh god…

I couldn’t do this. I
couldn’t feel this. It was wrong. He’d kidnapped me!

But damn, I’ve never seen
such a powerfully handsome man in my life…

With effort, I jerked
back a pace, shaking my head and trying to clear it, unsatisfied promises
whispering along my skin with echoes of what his hands would do.

“So that’s it? You’re
dragging me to Chicago because you want me like that now?” It was meant to come
out as a challenge, a clear rebuttal of everything he’d just said - but instead
the breathy whisper that left me made it sound like I was hoping for exactly
that.

His smile came back as he
met my dazed expression. “You know I’ve wanted you since the moment I first saw
you, Alessa - but no, that’s not why you’re coming with me to Chicago. Though
since that’s the second time you’ve asked…I’m beginning to wonder whether it’s
what
you
want.”

The growl of his voice
sent shivers down my back and I gasped in a deep breath. Why the hell was this
so difficult? One man should not be able to do this to me -
especially
Leo.

With effort, I recalled
what we were supposed to be talking about, desperate to move away from this
conversation.

“Fine! I believe you’ll
keep your word about letting me go.” I threw it at him, still hating the idea
of going to Chicago, but unwilling to spend another moment in this
conversation.

Leo clearly didn’t feel
the same way, giving me a far-too-naughty smile. “Good. And does that mean you
believe everything else I promised you, too, princess?”

“Argh!” I stepped back
again, shaking my head and retreating into the bathroom. I slammed the door
before he could say another word.

There was a low chuckle
through the door behind me, and cursed him as I moved around the bathroom,
taking a few minutes before I could calm down enough to pay any attention to
what I was doing.

At least he didn’t insist
on me leaving the door open tonight - after what had just happened, that would
have been too much. My heart still pounded hard in my chest, and I felt
uncomfortably
needy
between my thighs. I wasn’t used to this at all, and
I had no idea how I was supposed to hold up against that kind of talk. Especially
when I’d secretly dreamed of a man who would give me everything he’d just
described—

I cut that thought off
and turned on the tap, letting the cold water and rushing noise block out some
of what he’d said.

I was afraid I’d never be
able to forget it. That I’d compare those claims to whoever my father next
selected—

Oh god-damn it! Forget
it, Alessa. Just. Stop. Thinking.

It took much longer than
it should have for me to emerge from the bathroom, and I was hoping that by the
time I came out, the lights would be off and I could slip into bed without
looking at Leo. The fact that he was going to be right beside me for the night
was hard enough to deal with.

Except when I tentatively
opened the door, he was leaning against the wall opposite, obviously waiting
for me. I gritted my teeth, fists clenching as I prepared to deal with whatever
else he might say.

Instead, he headed past
me for the bathroom, and I let out a sigh of relief - until he added over his
shoulder. “If you change your mind - that offer is always open, princess.”

The door shut behind me
before I had a chance to retort, and I was left breathing hard and trying to
forget his words. I didn’t need to know that. I was
not
going to have
sex with my captor. It was probably all just some asshole mind game to distract
me from trying to get away now he’d told me about Chicago.

You don’t believe that
for a minute.

Ignoring the inconvenient
inner voice, I turned the light off and crawled into bed, trying to relax
myself enough that I could possibly consider sleep.

When Leo slipped in
minutes later, I tensed, but he didn’t say anything more, and apart from the
weight of his powerful form on the bed, I could at least try to pretend I was
alone.

My mind swirled between
fear at leaving New York City to a raging desire that seemed impossible to
quell, until I was sure I’d never manage to sleep tonight. Just when I’d
convinced myself of that, I found myself starting to drift - the lack of sleep
catching up with me until my body’s exhaustion overtook even my tumultuous
mind.

Chapter Nine

Leo

I jerked out of a light
sleep to Alessa crying out next to me.

Heart racing in alarm, I
looked over to see her thrashing beside me. My eyes adjusted quickly to the dim
room, and I could make out the covers caught around her lithe body, with the
shirt of mine she’d worn to bed twisted among them and sweat gleaming on her
forehead. I frowned as I watched her, not sure what to do. I guessed she was
having a nightmare, but I had no idea whether she’d want me to wake her up -
was it a good thing to be woken from something like that only to face your
kidnapper?

I had the feeling she’d
prefer it if I acted like I didn’t know it had happened - that would be what
I’d want, anyway.

Fuck. You really have no
clue what you’re doing with someone else here.

Then she whimpered and
that decided it for me. There was no way was I going to lie here and listen to
her suffer like that.

I reached out awkwardly,
not quite sure what to do as I touched her shoulder and tried calling out to
her.

“Alessa!” I kept my voice
low and insistent, shaking her a little when she didn’t respond.

A moment later, her eyes
flew open as she struggled for breath, jerking away from me and crying out
again.

“Hey, hey, it’s alright,
princess. You’re okay now.” My awkwardness increased as I attempted to reassure
her. I’d never had to try comforting a woman before.

She glanced over at me,
but her eyes were still clouded by whatever had consumed her, and before I
could say anything more she burst out in large, wracking sobs, drawing her
knees up to her chest and curling protectively around them. My heart twisted to
see it and I pushed my hesitations aside, unable to see her so devastated.

I shifted forward,
wrapping my arms around her vulnerable form and trying to hide my alarm as I
felt her shaking under me.

Was this normal? Fuck.

“Hey, it’s okay, Alessa.
I’ve got you. It was just a dream.” Some of the explosive sobs subsided a
little, but she was still shaking in my arms, and I caught the deep fear in her
dark, beautiful eyes as she looked up at me. “What’s wrong, Alessa? Hey, what
happened?”

I was just muttering
anything I could think of to help - to reassure her that she was awake now and
she’d be safe here, but those wide eyes met mine as she answered, with a fresh
wave of sobs. “T-that
stupid
book! Why-yyy w-would you have s-something
so hor-rrible!”

I stared at her as she
exclaimed. I had no idea what she was talking about. But before I could ask,
the sound of her own voice seemed to shake her out of whatever she’d been lost
in and she suddenly focused in on me, her quick anger overtaking the fear.

She shoved at me with a
muttered growl, and I knew I should let her go, but she was still shuddering in
my arms and I couldn’t quite bring myself to uncurl my body from where it was
wrapped protectively around her. Even angry as she was, she still seemed so
vulnerable and fragile.

“What are you talking
about, Alessa? What book?” I tried to distract her, draw her further out of
whatever nightmare had gripped her while I started rubbing slow circles on her
back.

“The one I was reading
all day! W-with the k-kidnapper, and t-the murderer and…and…” She glared at me,
thumping me again on the chest, but I ignored it as my stomach sank. This
didn’t sound good. “What kind of f-fucked up asshole keeps something like that
around for h-his hostage to read?!”

I couldn’t remember
exactly which books I kept here, but considering my penchant for the darker,
grittier types, I could imagine what she’d picked up. “I didn’t mean for—”

“I only read it ‘cos I
was bored out of my mind - should’ve known better - I
hate
that sort of
thing. A-always does this.” Her voice was muttered, and it felt like she was
talking to herself more than me. “Only finished the damn book so that I could
get to a happy ending - b-but the ending was
terrible.
W-why would
anyone want a book without a happy ending?” Her stormy eyes glanced up to glare
accusingly at me with the last comment. She pushed at me again and this time I
loosened my hold, shaking my head.

“Maybe because
life
doesn’t
often have a happy ending, princess.” It was an automatic, thoughtless comment
- and the immediate cry of helplessness and rage caught me by surprise as
Alessa jumped out of the bed and away from me, staring back with disbelief.

“What do you mean by
that?! You think
I’m
going to end up chopped to pieces and dissolved in
acid like the p-poor girl in that book?” Her voice was high and scared,
obviously still caught up in the vision of her nightmare as I winced.

“Fuck. No. Of course
not.” I was next to her in the next moment, hurting at the way she was hugging
herself and rocking backwards and forwards.

That’s what she’d read?
Fuck.

I cursed myself for being
too distracted to pay any attention today - I would never have let her go near
those books.

“C’mere, Alessa. Look, I
promise - none of that is going to happen, okay?” I kept talking, but she
didn’t seem to notice - staring into the distance instead, still hazy with
sleep and focused on her uncontrolled imagination.

When my words didn’t get
through to her, I cursed everything to hell and back before finally stepping
forward and wrapping my arms around her shuddering form again. Even if she
didn’t want me there, I wasn’t going to stand back and watch her like that.

She resisted at first,
striking at me with numb hands as I pulled her into me, but they did nothing
against the thick muscles of my chest. After a few minutes the fight went out of
her and she sank forward, relaxing into the warm strength of my body as I
clutched her close and stroked her hair.

Her head fit perfectly
under my chin, and my heart-rate doubled as I felt her soft body against mine,
inhaling her spicy feminine scent and caught up in this odd, protective
instinct. I kissed the top of her head instinctively, then swallowed at the
warmth spreading out from my chest.

I’d spent countless hours
with more women than I could remember, but not one of them had made as much of
an impression as these few touching moments.

Something deep inside
reminded me that this was a bad idea, but it was smothered by the slow
satisfaction of her receding hysteria. As I continued murmuring reassurances
and her breathing started to even, the slight shuddering under me turned from
fear to exhaustion, and I noticed goosebumps lining her skin.

“C’mon, Alessa, you’re
freezing. It’s okay now - I promise. Nothing’s going to hurt you.” I started
guiding us back towards the bed, and for once she didn’t resist.

But after I’d made sure
she was safely tucked in and retreated back to my side of the bed, her shivers
started up again. My heart pounding, I gave up on any pretense of detachment
and pulled her back towards me again, holding her tight against me until she
finally calmed.

We lay like that for a
while, and eventually her breathing evened out and I felt her drift back to
sleep. That had me relaxing a little more myself - until I realized that
without my concern distracting me, I was far too aware of how it felt to hold
her like this. I’d spent a lot of time in bed with women - hell, my time with
them was almost exclusively spent in bed - but if I’d ever had one in my arms
like this…I’d been too damned drunk to notice. Now, it all consumed me - her scent,
her warmth, those sweet, soft curves pressed up against me.

I had to bite back a
groan, trying in vain to stop the desire that threatened to surge up at that
thought. I shifted against her as I felt myself harden, not wanting
that
to disturb her. It might be better than a nightmare, but it still wasn’t
something she’d want to wake up to.

But then her sleeping
form shifted with me, pressing backwards and squirming against my all-too-eager
cock.

Fuck it. God-damned
unconscious tease.

That was more than I could
resist, and I found myself nuzzling up against her soft neck, inhaling that
beautiful feminine scent and ignoring how much worse I was making it.

She gave a little
breathless sigh and my heart stilled for a moment, but she was still asleep. I
could just imagine her making the same sound as I kissed every inch of her soft
curves, working my way down to that tender, warm opening. Exploring it with my
hands and mouth, hearing her spasm helplessly around me before she begged to be
fucked hard - to feel my cock pulsing inside her, driving her crazy before it
sent her over the edge screaming my name…

Yep, you’re not getting
any more sleep tonight.

I gave myself a mocking
smile as I acknowledged the thought. With Alessa in my arms, neither my body or
mind were the slightest bit interested in anything else.

Instead, I amused myself
with imagining all the things I wanted to do to her - how I’d make her feel,
the sounds she’d make as I drove her crazy, and the wild passion I’d bring out
of all her fire.

Yet one more sleepless
night. I wasn’t going to lie, though - this one was worth every moment.

* 
*  *

Alessa stirred against
me, dragging me out of my half-asleep doze as she shifted into consciousness.
She wriggled against my still-hard cock
again
and I could just imagine
the frown on her face as she froze, confused.

“Wh-what’s that?” Her
voice was groggy with sleep and I had to resist the urge to kiss her temple as
I slowly detached myself.

“Never heard of morning
wood, princess?” My tone had its familiar provocative amusement, and I waited
for the moment she’d exclaim in outrage - the only damn way I could think of to
firmly reestablish the kidnapper-hostage mentality.

Alessa jerked away at the
words, flushing a deep red, but instead of the outrage I’d expected she glanced
uncertainly over her shoulder at me. She turned to face me, then glanced down
at the tear-crusted shirt with a grimace.

“Ah…sorry - about last
night…” Her words were awkward, and for a moment far too much hung in the air
between us.

I shrugged, “Don’t be. My
fault, remember? Next time, I won’t let you near my choice of novels.”

The words seemed to break
some of the tension and she gave me a weak smile, followed by a deliberate
shudder. “Ugh, yes. God’s - I don’t know how you read that stuff. I spent half
the time I was reading just praying that you hadn’t bought those books for
inspiration or something.”

I laughed outright at
that, shaking my head. After a moment, she seemed to pick up on some of my
amusement, and her smile became more real.

“You’ve never actually
done that, have you?” She winced the moment the words left her mouth, but I was
too curious to let her take them back.

“Done what?”

“Never mind.” She
hesitated for a moment, then finally blurted. “Dissolved someone in acid. You know,
to kill them.”

“Hah, no. Too messy.
Those books wouldn’t make for good instruction manuals.” I let myself laugh
lightly again, but a lot of the humor left it as I saw her shudder.

“Okay, bad question.
Let’s not talk about the ways you’ve killed people.” She tucked a long lock of
hair behind her ear and shifted in the bed, glancing away.

I nodded, even though
some part of me was reluctant for the casual conversation to end. It was
surprisingly nice to talk like this, without provoking her or watching her rage
against me. But she continued before the moment could be broken.

“Still though, I don’t
know what you see in those books. Would’ve thought you got enough of all that
without reading about it on the side. It’s like a computer guy going home and
reading more computer stuff.” Her nose wrinkled and I had to laugh.

Did she seriously just
compare what I did to computing?

“I have it on good
authority that’s
exactly
what computer guys do.” I had to resist the
urge to reach out and touch her. The faint light from the window behind her
seemed to make the warm tone of her skin glow, and I swore I could still feel
her presence on the parts of my body she’d been pressed up against. But despite
having her in my arms all night, reaching out to her now seemed impossible.
Instead, I gave her a half-smile and shrugged as I answered the question. “I’ve
never thought about it before. I guess when that’s what you’re used to, it’s
all that makes sense. I wouldn’t know what to do with something light and
fluffy. Just isn’t me.”

“Seems like an even
better reason to try it. I’ve always loved reading as a way to experience
another life.” There was a wistful note in her voice, but her words left me
feeling abruptly uncomfortable.

I knew who and what I
was, and what the hell was the point in using books - or anything else - to
show me something I could never have? And it didn’t seem like she’d
particularly enjoyed experiencing the life of a kidnapped girl.