He couldn’t allow himself to soften towards her. He couldn’t. This afternoon had already been a huge f**kup. Going to her now would only make things worse, would confuse her and that wouldn’t be right or fair to her.

“Chris?” she sniffled softly.

“Yes?” he answered, wishing he could kick his own ass.

He should have just walked out and gave her an hour or two to calm down and fall asleep.

“Could you,” sniff, “hold me, please?”

“Munchkin, I don’t think that’s such a good-“

“Please, Chris? I’m so scared.”

He closed his eyes in resignation. He couldn’t leave her like this. It was his fault she was so afraid after all. The least he could do was hold her until she fell asleep, he decided as he walked over to the bed and sat down, leaning his back against the bare wall.

“C-could you lay down and hold me?” she asked softly.

Reluctantly he did exactly that. He lay down and opened his arms to her. She didn’t waste any time in rolling over and……..

Why the hell was she straddling his stomach? he thought idly as he registered the feel of her warm, wet pu**y pressed against his stomach and her big beautiful br**sts dangling in his face. He should be pushing her off him, but he found that he didn’t want to. Call him a selfish bastard, but he wanted her.

“Fuck it,” he muttered, just as he leaned up to take one rose colored nipple into his mouth.

“That should do it,” Izzy said, sitting up and yanking her breast away from him with a rather pleased expression.

Thanks to his lust hazed mind it took him a few seconds to register what she’d done and when he did he bucked her off.

“Well, as much as I’d love to say it was nice meeting you I really can’t,” she said, ignoring his violent struggles to free himself.

“Get me the f**k out of here!” he snapped as he reached down between the mattress, wincing when the handcuffs bit into his wrists and he found the thick metal bed frame that she’d attached him to.

“Sorry,” she said with a careless shrug as she absently scratched just below her ear. “As much as I’d love to let you go so you could continue to drag me god only knows where and treat me like dirt I’m going to have to pass.

Plus, I have a feeling I that I really wouldn’t like whatever it is that you and Eric have planned for me.”

“Give me the f**king key!” he snapped when she disappeared into the bathroom.

A minute later she stepped back into the room wearing his jeans and tee shirt. “Sorry, I can’t do that. But what I can do is tell the nice man at the front desk not to disturb you, and,” she said, grinning hugely as she pulled his wallet out of his pants pocket, “pay for another night so that you can enjoy that nice comfy bed and I can get the hell away from you.”

“I’ll find you,” he gritted out.

She merely shrugged. “Maybe. Maybe not.”

“There’s no maybes about it, Munchkin,” he said, straining to sit up, but couldn’t, “when I get my hands on you I’m going to make you pay for every f**king minute that you leave me here. Then I’m going to ship your ass off to an island that you will never f**king leave!” he bellowed.

Chapter 27

“W-what did you just say?” Isabella asked, praying that she’d heard him wrong.

“You heard me,” he bit out coldly as he yanked on his handcuffs again.

“I don’t want to go to an island,” she mumbled as she scratched her neck. She’d planned on picking up some aloe for the scratches when she escaped, but that would be impossible now.

At least for a day or so.

She’d have to hide out and avoid any place with a camera or small crowds for a while. Right now her best bet was large crowds and anonymity. She’d have to travel at night to make it harder for anyone to spot her, but she could do it. She couldn’t touch her credit cards now, but thankfully there was enough money in Chris’

wallet that she should be able to hole up somewhere for a week or two while she transferred some of her money into a new online bank account and had the debit cards expressed to her. She could do this, she could”That’s not your choice to make, Munchkin. Your life as you know it is over. Right now you need to be a good little girl and uncuff me so that I can protect you,” he said harshly as he yanked on his cuffs again.

“I don’t need you to protect me. I can take care of myself,” she snapped as she reached down and grabbed her pants as they started to fall.

She did not appreciate it when he started to laugh at her.

“I can,” she stressed.

“Puhlease, Munchkin. You wouldn’t last an hour without my help now.”

“Wow, I couldn’t? That’s funny, because somehow I survived the last twenty-seven years without your help,” she snapped as headed for the door only to come to stop at his next words.

“You didn’t have demons, vampires and shifters after you before. But you do now. If you walk out that door, Munchkin, I won’t be there to protect you. Look outside,” he said conversationally. “The sun has gone down and it’s the night after the full moon. Every shifter that knows of your existence is going to be on the hunt for you along with every vampire that wants to please its Master. You leave right now and you’re going to have a nasty surprise.”

“Then again if you go out during the day without me you’ll have to worry about minions, demons and shifters looking for you. There will be nowhere for you to hide, Munchkin. You don’t have the skills or the resources to survive on your own.”

“That’s not true,” she mumbled weakly as his words sank in.

“You leave and you’ll either be dead by morning because someone got a little overzealous or you’ll end up a Master’s pet. Then again you might just killed in crossfire as they fight over you. If you’re lucky you’ll only be tortured and used for your skills.”

“You’re saying that I don’t have many choices,” she said quietly, realizing that he was right. She didn’t know how to fight never mind fight what was out there waiting for her.

“You walk out that door and you’re as good as dead or you release me and I can protect you and get you safely to an island where no one will ever find you and you can live a full life and be productive,” he said, sounding calmer. “All you have to do is let me go, Munchkin, and I can protect you.”

“And be a prisoner?” she asked, wondering where the hell the upside was.

“It’s better than being dead. Then again if you don’t do whatever they want you to do you’ll probably wish that you were,” he bit out coldly as he yanked uselessly on his cuffs.

She shook her head. “This can’t be it. There has to be another choice. Why can’t I stay in this country? I heard someone talk about a compound. Why can’t I stay there and work?”

For a moment he didn’t say anything, but she didn’t miss the way his expression became guarded. “Oh my god, that is an option, isn’t it? But you don’t want me to stay. You’re the one who wants me to go away,” she said, knowing it was the truth as the words tumbled out of her mouth.