Chapter 1

I walked in the park while sipping on a fresh brewed coffee and enjoying my book.I was a sucker for poetry and fell in love with words more than actions.When everything in the world went collapsing  ,I can always turn to them and they will be waiting for me with open arms .Tears prick in the corner of my eyes as I read this particular poem that had laced my blood and crawled into my gut .

Darkness  folded within me like an insidious snake, that raises its head when I least expect it.Somewhere out there  ,The  Mafias are searching for  me and apparently my sister Nina and her husband Adam West had decided to hired a security for my saftey.I did agree ,only to appease them but then I slip from my bodyguard this morning but no early in the morning .They wouldn’t think to look for me here .At least not for a while longer .

I close my eyes and lick my lips .There was nothing but Silence .The rustle of the wind between the leaves .The faint tinkle of the water from a nearby spring.I could be the only person left on this planet ,alone and bounded for the grave .

 I whip my head around. His silhouette fills my line of sight. He's sitting on the same knoll as me, yet I have to crane my neck back to see his profile. The sun is at his back, so I can't make out his features. Can't see his eyes... Can only take in his dark hair, combed back by a ruthless hand that brooked no measure.

My heart skipped a beat .

Thick dark hair ,shot through with gray at the temples .He wears his age like a badge  But I know his years have not been easy .That he’s seen more,indulged in deep,however  he is not normal,Not a nine to fiver ,not someone who lives in average life .Definitely not a man who returns home to his wife at the end of the day .He’s different ,powerful,unique ,evil ….Monstrous.Yes,he is the devil ,one who spots the face of a man but who harbors the kind of darkness inside that speaks to me .His face boasts a hooked nose, a fulled lip, a thick fleshy lower lip. One that hints at hidden desires, Heat. Lust. The sensuous scrape of that whiskered jaw over my innermost places. Across my inner thigh, reaching toward that core of me that throbs, clenches, melts to feel the stab of his tongue, the thrust of his hardness as he impales me, takes me, makes me his. Goosebumps pop on my skin.

While I was reading ,suddenly Goosebumps flare on my skin; moisture laces my palms. My throat went  dry that I swear my tongue is stuck to the roof of my mouth. Not good. This is not good.

"Where do you want from me?"

"You’re hardly in a position to ask any  questions."

The hard planes of his chest graze my shoulders. I gulp. Freeze. Every muscle in my body goes rigid. His powerful thighs fit in the V of where I have folded up my legs. He slides his arm under my neck, wraps the other around my waist, and pulls me close.

Something sharp and long stabs at the curve of my backside, No freaking way ! Is that…. a …?

I squeeze my thighs together, try to scoot away. His grip tightens.

"Stop that," he growls.

As if I am going to jump to his every command. I huff, wriggle forward, but end up brushing my butt against his turgid length.

"See what happens when you don’t obey?"

I freeze.

"No! You can’t  …do this."

"I already am."

"My sister will be worried to death when she can’t reach me."

"You already called her."

"What the hell are you talking about  " I turn my head, glower at him.

"You told her you were going on a long holiday to clear your head "

Oh, right. "She’ll never believe that," I huff.My sister is so overprotective and  wouldn't just let me take off like that without suspecting something”

"She has a husband, a future… She’s not going to miss you for a while."

"How did you…?" I shut my mouth. "Did you …stalked me?"

"You aren’t that important."

Anger coats my tongue. How dare he insult me? "I mean what do you want with me  because you could have  kill me by now …"

"Yet." I hear the amusement in his voice.

I guess this is something that he was fully prepared ,he knew where I was .Which is where he found me. How long had he been stalking  me? Did he know my routine? Is that how he marked out the best time to abduct me? My heart begins to thud. This is not good. This is really happening.

"Why me?" I say in a low tone. "Why are you kidnapping me?"

"The same question again." He yawns. The bastard yawns, as if he is bored with this conversation.

"Tell me now ," I insist, "what do you want in exchange?"

"What makes you think I am interested in getting anything in exchange?"

"What do you mean?" I glance sideways and up at what I can see of that gorgeous face. Those sharp jawline , the hooked nose, that pouty lower lip of his that was made for sinking my teeth into, swiping my tongue across the seam, as I nibble on that delectable mouth. My face heats and a pulse flares to life between my legs.

"What do you mean, you are not interested in an exchange? You must want something in return at least ."

“I have everything that I need “

“Then what do you want with me  ?”

“I am still trying to figure that out”

What in the hell ?I frown,

"You are not making any sense . You must have a plan when you are currently deciding to steal me away from my very own life. I mean, people don’t just see someone else and decide, on the spur of the moment, ‘oh, I want that person, so I am going to kidnap him or her,’ you know?"

"No," he shakes his head, "I don’t, actually."

I blink, open my mouth and shut it again. "I see." I bob my head. "I understand what you are trying to do with me."

He arches an eyebrow, "Really ,do enlighten me then ."

"You’re trying to confuse me with your cryptic words, and you’re trying to keep me off balance with your stupid domineering ways."

"You meant controlling ways."

I snarl, "What’s the bloody difference anyway?"

"To control means to command, to have mastery over, to---"

"Forget I asked," I mutter.

"You, on the other hand, clearly love to be subjugated."

"No I don't," I snap.

"Sure, you do."

"Not."

"Want me to prove it to you?" He lowers his voice to a hush, and instantly my toes curl. A shiver ripples down my spine. Every cell in my body opens, all my nerve endings go on alert and they seem to fire all at once.Why the hell do I find him so freaking hot ?I strain away, try to put distance between us once. He hauls me even closer, throws his leg over both of mine, so I can’t move.I try to draw in a breath and my lungs burn. I am having a nervous breakdown. In the boot of a car, with my kidnapper.

No, no no, this can’t be happening.I can’t breathe. My heart beats so fast, I am sure it’s going to jump out of my ribcage.

"Shh!" His warm breath grazes my cheek. "Relax, I promise I won’t harm you."

Says the man who almost shot me. A chuckle bubbles up and my entire body shakes.

"What is  so funny?" he rumbles.

"You…" I choke out, "you, dweeb. Have you heard yourself? You sound like a psychotic  bastard"

Cold metal pushes against the curve of my neck. My breath hitches. My pulse rate ratchets up, even as my limbs tremble.

"Shh." His warm breath raises the hair at my temples. My skin prickles and my scalp feels too tight. I open my mouth, but no words come out.Is that a knife?It’s a knife. A bloody knife. Oh my God . How many  weapons does this man carry on him, anyway?

He drags the tip of the blade down the side of my throat. The tip pricks my skin. Not enough to hurt, just enough for me to go still. My breath hitches and a trembling grips me.What the hell is wrong with me? Do I find the idea of him holding a weapon against my skin ,a turn on? Am I such a loser  for punishment?

"Listen pretty face ,  don’t freak out on me, not after that sparkle we had going from the start ."

He quickly removes the knife. I sense him move away as he tucks the knife back from wherever he’d pulled it out and then grips my chin. He forces my head toward him and our gaze meets.

His  blue eyes are mesmerizing and piercing  a beacon in the darkness. My light at the end of the tunnel.What? No. Anger squeezes my guts and fear bubbles up, a tangy, bitter taste on my tongue.I open my mouth to scream, but he lowers his chin and  press  his lips over mine .