Theirs To Claim (Predatory Desires Book 1) (34 page)

CHAPTER 34

Noah woke to the sound of Gabriel’s light snoring and he cracked an eye open to look at him. He chuckled when he realized they’d both passed out like the dead after making love to Emily. And it wasn’t the first time it had happened that week. Hell, he thought, she was turning them into old men faster than he could blink.

He glanced down to look at her and saw the empty space where he’d last seen her. Noah bolted upright so fast that the motion rocked the bed and woke Gabriel. Gabriel rose up and ran a hand over his face to clear the sleep away. It was then he noted the panicked look on Noah’s face.

“What?” he asked gruffly.

“Where the hell is Emily?” Noah muttered. He was off of the bed a second later, heading towards the bathroom in only a few long strides. “She’s not in here. And her clothes are gone,” he said, as he turned back to see his and Gabe’s clothes on the floor, but not hers.

Gabriel uttered a dark curse and turned to drop his feet off the side of the bed. He yanked his jeans and shirt up and then began to dress as quickly as he could. Noah was already a step ahead, and once he was clothed, he opened the bedroom door and hit the stairs at a jog. Gabriel heard him calling out Emily’s name loudly, only to be met with silence.

“Emily, where in the hell are you?!” Noah yelled again, rounding the corner at the end of the hallway.

“What’s going on?” Garrett asked, coming out of the study.

“Emily. Is she in there with you guys and Tara?” Noah asked impatiently.

“
No
.” Garrett drew out the word and leveled a stern look at them. “She was with the two of you, last we saw.”

“Shit,” Noah fumed and turned towards the kitchen. “Em! Answer me now, damn it!”

He jogged back down the hall and turned into the kitchen. Gabriel was already there, staring at the empty space around him. The rest of the team and Tara were right behind Noah, and they filed in as fast as they could.

“She’s not in here,” Gabe said, and looked to everyone else in the room. He moved quickly into the adjacent mudroom, only to find it empty as well. “Did any of you hear her come downstairs?”

“No, Gabriel,” Tara answered. “We had lasagna for lunch about an hour ago and then we went back to the study so the guys could keep working.”

Noah turned away from them and headed for the door leading out to the garage. “Em!” he yelled again. He pulled it open and took two steps down before his entire body jolted to a stop.

“What in the hell?” Noah muttered. He gave the ruined pan of food splattered across the slab floor only a cursory glance, because his eyes were fixed solely on a singular, blue object lying next to the dish. He stepped closer to the item and snagged a screwdriver from a nearby workbench as he passed by. Noah leaned down and used the tool to lift a plastic syringe cap.

“Dear mother of God!” he managed to say as he stared at the item in his grasp.

“Put it back where you found it. Now, Noah,” Lawton said in a steady voice, hoping to help him maintain control. “I need to log it, tag and bag it. You know I’m right.”

Noah placed it on the floor and whirled towards the outer door. He ran in its direction, almost wrenching it off of its hinges as he headed outside. Gabriel, Garrett, and Ross were there with him and they began looking around for any sign, any other clue of what had gone on while their guard was briefly down.

Gabriel finally placed his hands on Noah’s shoulders and forced him to stop. “Let’s go to his house now, Noah. We already have enough to nail his ass to the wall. The longer we look around, the longer he has her.”

“Do you really think he took her to his house?
Really
?” Noah asked, not able to hide the sarcastic bite to his words.

“No, I don’t. I’d bet my life that he took her to his family’s lake cabin. It’s secluded and private. Just what he needs for whatever he has planned for her. Or,” he said and paused, hating what he was about to admit.

“Just say it, damn it!” Noah panted, taking a step back from Gabriel. Dear God, he thought, he was a hairsbreadth from losing it completely. And that was not what Emily needed from him in the moment.

“Or,” Gabriel said sadly, “he’s hit the road with her and we’ll need to put out a BOLO to track his vehicle, wherever he’s gone.”

“If he’s harmed one hair on her head…” Noah broke off and grimaced as his eyes grew moist.

“Let’s go before he does,” Gabriel urged him.

Noah nodded and looked over to Garrett. Thankfully, Garrett had let them get those words out without interfering. He realized it was go time, and Garrett helped them move past their initial shock to form a plan.

“Ross, you and Ethan head over to his primary residence. Secure it and check in with me,” Garrett began. “Braden stays behind with Tara. Go tell Lawton and Kaden that they’re headed to the lake with me, Gabriel, and Noah. Now.”

Ross spun on his heel and ran back into the house. Minutes later, he returned with the other men. They carried guns and Kevlar vests for everyone. The seven of them raced to the SUVs and were climbing inside when Tara yelled from the back porch.

“Bring her home, guys! I mean it!” Her order was more of a plea, and they all heard the desperation in her voice.

“Without a doubt, we will!” Noah hollered back, then shut his door as Garrett peeled out of the driveway.

Emily heard movement nearby, but she couldn’t see anything to know where it was coming from or exactly who was making the sound. At first she thought the blindfold was still in place, obscuring her view. But then she realized it was no longer touching her skin, and that it was her own weighty eyelids keeping her in the dark. Literally.

She began to fight against the drugs that had invaded her body and shut her down so completely. After several minutes, which seemed more like hours, she managed to open one eye. The muted light of a nearby lamp pierced her vision and felt like a knife stabbing her brain. She promptly closed her eye and waited several breaths before she attempted the movement again.

“Open them for me, Emily,” coaxed a soft voice to her left.

She gasped. She knew that voice. Knew it well. And, she thought, as reality seemed to splinter away from her in a world gone mad, she had trusted it for years. Surely, this could not be happening.

Ever so slowly, Emily complied, willing strength into her eyelids that made a light sheen of sweat break out on her forehead. To her utter surprise, when she looked up, a cool cloth was placed there and her perspiration was gently wiped away.

“Shhh, just take this slowly. One breath and one moment at a time.”

“
Eric
?” she croaked in disbelief. No, she screamed inside, this
could not
be happening! Not Eric! Not someone she’d placed such faith in, time after time.

Eric watched her glazed eyes become more focused and smiled tenderly. He reached out to cup her face and slowly nodded.

“Yes, Emily, it’s me. It’s always been me. And now, you’re
finally
seeing me as I do you. Without everyone else around us, pulling our attention seven different ways. I’m not going to hurt you, so let that worry and fear leave you now. I won’t ever hurt you, sweetheart,” he promised.

Emily cringed over his use of the term. That was the word she had given to Noah. It would always be his, and she despised hearing another man use the familiar endearment. She tried to shrink away from his touch, and it was then Emily realized that she was bound hand and foot. To a bed.

“Why am I tied down?” she asked, unable to hide the panic lacing her every word.

“Only so you would rest comfortably and not harm yourself once you were awake. I’ve no intention of hurting you or forcing anything on you that you’re not ready for, Emily. Not now, not ever. I know you’re nothing like the other women around here. You’re not someone to enter into a relationship flippantly, and certainly not one to whore yourself to the locals, like so many others do.”

Eric’s mouth twisted in disgust over his last comment, but it made Emily see red. How dare he imply that he was somehow better than anyone else, given the women in town he’d worked his way through?
Pompous ass
, she wanted to scream.

Instead, she breathed deeply and tried to maintain an utter calm on the outside, with a tranquil mask to match, that would give him no indication of what she was thinking or feeling. Better to play dumb and docile, Emily decided, until she had an opening to make her escape. And then she was running like hell.

“Was it you who sent me all the pictures?” she asked, hoping to keep him talking. Anything to stall further physical contact.

“It was.” Eric smiled warmly. His hand continued to stroke her cheek and he watched her eyes closely as he caressed her skin. “I’ve wanted to reach out and touch you for years. But you always seemed so unsure of yourself, so shy. I wanted you to see yourself as I did – beautiful, graceful, vibrant. Simply put, Emily, you’re amazing. And it’s been my honor to help you open up a bit and finally let you see how desirable you truly are.”

Emily could not believe how utterly oblivious Eric was to the insanity he was spouting. How could she hope to play along, when her mind was screaming at her that logical conversation was not even slightly possible with him? Eric was completely unhinged, and she was at a loss.

Maybe, that was how to proceed, she finally decided. As if she was still clueless. It was honest, and she wouldn’t have to fake a response - one that he might easily see through. Because if he had made a study of her, then certainly he would see through any bullshit she tried to sell him now.

“I don’t know what to say, Eric,” she murmured.

“I’m sure you don’t. But we have time. Lots of time to talk and really get to know each other.” He gave her a stunning smile, as his handsome face lit up with hopefulness.

“Yes, we can talk,” Emily agreed without hesitation. “Now that I’m awake, will you untie me? I’d like to drink some water and maybe go to the bathroom. Would that be all right with you?” she asked, hoping she sounded meek and not too eager.

“I think that can be arranged,” he said as his fingers moved from her cheek up into her hair. “I’ll take you to the bathroom and then you and I can have dinner in the kitchen. How does that sound?”

Was he asking, or merely testing her? Emily paused a little too long, and Eric angled his head, waiting for her response.

“Dinner sounds nice,” she finally managed to say. As if on cue, her stomach growled and he frowned. “I missed lunch today and I’m really hungry.” Again, stick with the truth, Emily told herself.

“I’m glad then, that you’re in my care. Noah nor Gabriel has ever done a very good job of protecting you or loving you as you deserved. They might call themselves your friends,” Eric sneered, “but that’s about all they have to offer you. They either stayed too far away from you over the years, or wallowed in their own fear of destroying their friendship, if one of them was to step up to the plate and ask you out. You won’t have that worry with me, Emily. Ever.”

“Okay,” she whispered. Her lower lip began to tremble and she willed it to stop, not wanting him to see the slightest hint of fear or weakness in her.

“Hey,” he crooned and scooted closer to her on the bed. “What’s this?”

“Sorry,” she breathed and shook her head in denial of the physical response she was having to this entire nightmare.

Eric framed her face with both hands and leaned towards her. Emily stared into his hazel eyes and tried her damnedest to breathe evenly. Be calm, she urged herself, even as he drew closer.

He placed a chaste kiss against her temple and then another on her cheek. Slowly, he moved his head until his lips hovered just over hers.

“
Eric
,” she said in warning. Though Emily was actually pleading with him not to follow through.

“I won’t, Emily. Not until you ask me to. But hearing my name on your lips like that, is such sweet music to my ears. Something I’ve waited years to hear.”

His breath blew warm over her face, like a caress. But to Emily it felt more like a slap. An unsolicited intimacy gone too far.

“I’m not ready, Eric.”

“I know, sweetheart. Just another reason I love you. I want you ready and willing to be with me, but only when it’s right for you. You’ll find that I can be very patient,” he assured her.

She nodded, unable to say more. He placed one more gentle kiss on her forehead and then turned to untie the soft fabric that held her ankles in place. Once they were freed, he began to work on the silk scarves which held Emily’s wrists. Eric gently massaged her hands and arms, helping to chase away the numbness. Before Emily could stop him, he placed an arm behind her back and slowly eased her up into a sitting position.

“Take this easy, Emily. You’re still going to feel the effects of the sedative. I’m sorry I had to use that, but there was no other way to get you away from that house before time ran out on us. I watched those windows for hours, just waiting for you to come back into a room by yourself.”

“That wasn’t all you used,” Emily said before she thought better of it, remembering the searing internal fire and pain his taser had caused her.