Capturing Kate (5 page)

She sat there for long minutes on the toilet, rocking back and forth, letting her mind blank out. She was tapped out, done, her brain zapped beyond any ability to think. She should be plotting an escape for later, finding weapons, but all she could do was sit there and zone out, staring at a small piece of lint on the floor, trying to figure out if it was from a sweater, or whether it was a dead ant. It seemed vitally important that she figure this out without looking closer, and she tried to use her powers of deduction to discern the thing, to tease it out of its surroundings, until Sloan’s voice called out:

“Kate. Finish up, please. I need to tend to your wrists.” That shocked her awake. She started, stood up, wiped. The toilet gurgled when it flushed, then sucked down the water in a flat gulp. Septic system sounds. The country—probably far from a main road.

There was nothing in this bathroom except the toilet, a roll of paper on the floor beside it, a curtain-less shower stall, and the sink. No medicine cabinet. She thought that she should lift the tank lid and fashion some kind of shank out of the float and metal thingies inside there, and hide it for later, but she lacked the energy to even contemplate trying.

She washed her face and mouth over and over until all the dirt, tears, sweat, and vomit were gone and she felt refreshed. Then she washed her wrists for a long time, amazed at how raw and bruised they looked, and turned off the water when Sloan banged on the door. “Kate. That’s enough time. Come out, now.”

She realized that there was a small wadded-up piece of paper on the floor. What was that? She picked it up, feeling dumb, blind. Then the feel of it in her palm triggered a memory; this must be what Ella had given her. But there was no time now. She shoved it into her bra.

“What about my privacy?” She pushed past him into the hallway, rubbing. “My wrists hurt.”

“You don’t get privacy right now. Sorry about your wrists.” He put his hand on her shoulder and guided her back to the bed. “Sit. If you behave, I’ll leave you untied for a while.”

“For a while? How about forever?” She felt her lip quiver. The touch of his hand on her shoulder was like a brand, burning heat into her body. She hated him, but his proximity made her prickle with something other than fear.

“Kate, I don’t trust you not to run. If you leave, you’ll jeopardize the operation and put your own life in danger. You don’t really get what we’re up against. If I tie you up, it’s for your own good.”

“I could escape.” Her words burst forth as she glared at him.

“I don’t recommend you try. Let’s get one thing straight. I’m in charge right now. Not you. You’re going to do what I say, when I say it, and that will save both of our lives.”

“What will you do if I don’t?”

He looked at her for a long second, and she almost thought he was going to grab her and throw her on the bed and kiss her senseless. She’d felt a rush of attraction to him in the coffee shop, and despite the situation, it was still there. She was sure she saw the same desire in his face. Or maybe that’s what she wanted, and because of it, she saw the reflection of her need in his eyes. Still, something burned there, something hot and bright and dangerous.

He tilted his head. “What do you think I should do?” His voice was stern and a little husky.

She sucked in her breath. “What do I think?” Her face grew hot and she put a hand to her cheek. “I—I…”

She wanted something bad and dirty, something that had nothing to do with the awful situation at hand. She wanted what she felt back in the coffee shop, before any of this, when he was a handsome, broad-shouldered man with strong hands and a sexy mouth. She didn’t know why these feeling were here, pushing aside the anxiety and fear and anger. But there they were, bold and strong.

“I think…” There was no way to say he needed to fuck her brains out, drive into her body and fill her so far up with pleasure that all of the pain and fear had nowhere to go but out. She couldn’t ask him to put his tongue into her mouth and his dick into her body and his strength into her soul, to seal up her cracks with his presence, his movements, his touch. That he needed to be a living poem, writing the words of salvation and relief into her skin with his skin, that he needed to touch every inch of her body with every centimeter of his until all she could think of was nothing, nothing, blessed nothing.

So she said nothing. But she couldn’t look away. He read her face with his eyes, she thought, learning it, memorizing it, figuring something out. Surely he couldn’t see her thoughts from her expressions?

He smiled, nodded, as if he was right about something. Then he raised one eyebrow. “If it’s necessary, I’ll tie you back up, like I said. But first, I’ll do something else.”

“What—else?” She whispered the words, suddenly sure he had read her mind and knew exactly what she wanted from him, and the thought made her burn.

“I’ll turn you over my lap and spank you so hard that you won’t sit comfortably all day tomorrow.” He pierced her with his gaze.

“You can’t do that!” She jumped to her feet, stepping back, alarm bells tripping over the butterflies in her belly. “You said you weren’t going to torture me!” This wasn’t what she had in mind—

“A spanking’s not torture. In fact, it can even be a lot of fun, under the right circumstances.” He flexed the fingers of one hand. “But if I need to punish you, it’s definitely going to hurt. No permanent injuries, but you’ll have a thoroughly sore ass. And then you’ll listen.”

“No! I won’t let you.”

“Oh, you won’t?” He raised one eyebrow and stepped forward and her heart accelerated in her chest. For some reason, though, she also felt spires of desire flow through her abdomen. The thought of those strong hands on her naked ass made her blush. “I don’t think you have a choice. So if you don’t want a spanking, I suggest you behave. Will you behave?”

“I know that’s not FBI protocol. I could sue you for a million dollars. You’d get fired. You could go to jail for harassment.”

He barked out a short laugh that held no humor. “Oh, I could? Sure, right after you and I are both found dead in a ditch, throats slit, and other atrocities that will make at least one tender-hearted news reporter quit her job and go into therapy. Sure, Kate. You do that.”

“Don’t mock me!” She screamed the words.

He grabbed her arms and spoke into her face, each word distinct. “This is no joke. Listening to me will keep you alive, and I have no reservations about using physical force to do it. And you can believe that a hell of a lot worse is waiting for you if you’re not with me right now. You really want to go out there?” He pointed to the door. “The storm is the least of your worries. Kate?”

When he put it that way, she recognized that she was better off here, with him. Far better. She flushed, angry. “Fine.”

“Fine, what?”

“Fine. I’ll… do what you say.” The words made her seethe.

“Why?”

“Because I don’t want. I don’t want you to… spank me.”

“Good answer, but that’s not the most important part. Why else?” The smug look on his face made her want to punch him.

“I want to stay safe.” She bit her lip.

“Because you want to stay alive.” He graced her with a smile, and she scowled. What made it worse was that his smile had the ability to send her stomach fluttering with desire. Why was this happening? He was in league with a man who had tied her up, tossed her into the back of his car, kidnapped her, and now he himself was threatening to spank her. What was wrong with her that she was so attracted to him?

He sat beside her with the lotion and gauze. “Give me your wrists.”

She glared at him, but extended her arms. He smoothed the gel around her wrists with an easy touch, wrapped her wrists with gauze, and gently placed her hands back in her lap. “There you go. By tomorrow those should look a lot better. And just as an FYI, when I have to tie you up again, I’ll use bondage cuffs instead of rope. Much easier on the skin.”

“Bondage cuffs? What are you, some kinky pervert in your spare time?” That should be scary, right? So why did it make her want to lean in a little closer, get another whiff of his faded aftershave? Why did she want to run her fingers down the stubble on the side of his cheek?

He didn’t answer, but rummaged through a leather duffel bag and extricated a pair of black leather cuffs with silver rings and buckles. They looked strong, secure… and scary.

Kate shuddered and he looked at her with an unreadable expression. “They’re padded on the inside for your comfort. They won’t graze and burn like rope. You can wear them for a long time without issues.”

“No. Please, don’t. I—please don’t tie me.” Claustrophobia and panic welled, and her breathing accelerated. The room tilted and swam as tears came to her eyes. Her emotions were a train wreck—Jesus God, one minute she wanted to jump him, the next she was terrified. She had no idea how to even the seesaw, to catch a real breath of air to try to figure things out.

He was at her side in a second. “Kate? Deep breaths. You’re hyperventilating. Look at my eyes. I told you, I’m not going to hurt you, and I mean that. I’m just showing you the cuffs so you understand that I’m serious about the need to keep you here. Breathe deep. Yes. Like that. You’re okay. I know this is scary, but it’s going to be okay.”

He knelt and held her hands, stroking with his thumbs, and his touch, and the fact that he’d made himself lower than her gave her comfort. He wasn’t going to hurt her. Right now, he wasn’t even putting on the cuffs. She sucked in a deep breath, then another.

“See? Okay, right? Look, I’m putting these away now, Kate.” He tossed them back at his bag. “I’m not trying to give you a panic attack. I’m being honest with you. I need you to be honest with me, too, completely honest. The better we work together, the faster we get out of this situation. You want to get of this situation, right?”

His voice was soothing and firm at the same time, and she nodded, mesmerized by the tone. “Tell me you want to help us get out of this situation. You have the power to help, Kate. I want you to help me. Will you help me?”

It wasn’t the poem she wanted, but the sound—the soothing cadence more than the actual words themselves—trickled into her psyche.

Tension flowed out of her shoulders, and she slumped down. “I do want to get out this. Yes, I’ll help.”

“Good.” He rubbed her hands once more, then stood up. “We start tomorrow. I’ll explain more about the situation and what we need to do.”

She bit her lip. Tomorrow? The future loomed, uncertain, bleak.

He opened a knapsack and pulled out a sandwich and an apple, and tossed them to her on the bed. “Eat up. Ham and Swiss on rye.”

“What if I’m a vegetarian?”

He gave her a look. “I suggest you discover the joy in eating meat.”

“What if I’m allergic to gluten?”

“I know you’re not. You eat pastries in the café. And bacon.”

“You were paying attention.”

“Yeah, I was.” His eyes roved over her and she flushed.

“Because you were worried he’d kill me.” The bite of sandwich clogged her throat and she felt sick again despite her ravenous hunger.

“I was watching you because you’d tripped his attention, and I wanted to find out why. We’re so close to that auction, and his behavior was out of character.”

“I don’t even understand how someone who looks like you could be an FBI agent.” She frowned and gestured. “You’re too handsome to go undercover.”

“Agents can’t be handsome?” A smile twitched on his face.

“No. They can’t.” She put down the sandwich. “Neither can hit men. They’re sick and nasty and cruel and cold and evil.” Her shoulders started shaking. “Like that other guy. I could just tell from his voice. I don’t care what his face looked like, I’m sure he resembles the devil incarnate. His evilness would show in his eyes and taint his entire aura. I can’t eat. I’m dying.”

Sloan came and sat beside her and pulled her into his arms. “Kate. It’s going to be okay,” he soothed, putting his fingers to her neck. Alarmed, she pulled back. “No. Don’t make me pass out again.”

He stroked. “I did that because you were about to hurt yourself and me. Right now I need you to relax so you can eat. You’ll need the energy. I know this is a strange situation, but I promise, I have no desire to make this last any longer than necessary. My goal is to take down Mancini and close this out, and then I can go home, and you can go home. Okay? We just need to work together until that time so we can make it happen. I need your cooperation on this, Kate. Make this easy on both of us and do what I ask you. Understand?”

His voice was gentle and iron at once, an order swathed in a request. She nodded and relaxed into his arms for a long time, feeling his heart beat through his shirt. He smelled just like she’d imagined he would, back in the coffee shop, a million years ago, although now she also smelled sweat. It was odd how strong and safe his arms felt, when he was the one responsible for all of her current pain and angst.

After a few minutes, she took a deep breath and picked up the sandwich, avoiding his eyes, and ate the entire thing without stopping.

Chapter Five

She must have fallen asleep, because she woke with a start, yelling, words gurgling in her throat. It was morning; she could tell by the gray light that sifted through the part in the curtains. Rain drummed on the roof, steady. There was a hot body beside her, and as she sat up, sweating, staring around blind, strong arms encircled her. “You’re having a nightmare. It’s all right. You’re safe.”

Reality flooded back: Sloan. Being tied up. His threats to spank her. Her weird emotions. “This is the nightmare.” She took a deep breath and pulled out of his arms. “Why are we in bed together?”

“There’s only one bed, and this way I can keep an eye on you.”

“What if I snuck out at night?”

“I tied you.” He gestured to the foot of the bed; there was a bondage cuff around her right ankle and a rope attached in some complex knot to the footboard.

Now fully awake, she jerked her leg and tugged. “You said you’d leave me untied.” She slapped at him. “Let me go.”