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‘Once
the money is received, and I have your word that you won’t do anything stupid
like identifying any of my men, I will reluctantly permit you to return to your
detective and give you some of that good you desire so badly. Debt paid.’  

‘You
will let me go?’ I plead into his grey gaze, ‘I won’t have to look over my
shoulder ever again?’

He
nods, once.  ‘But the kiss has to be worth it Sophie,’ he warns.  ‘Otherwise,
I will take another and another until you submit to me.  One sensational
kiss, a small price to pay for your life, wouldn’t you agree?’

‘Yes,’
I nod, enthusiastically, ‘but, can I ask why?’ I ask softly, knowing that this
man can probably have any woman he desires with a click of his fingers. 
He almost has it all, the looks, the mannerisms, but what he doesn’t have is a
nine til five job.  He is a drug dealer. Some women may get off on the
danger of such an alpha male.  I would rather wrap myself around my
detective, my protector, the good kind of alpha male. 

‘Because
since you walked into this room, I have been dying to taste those luscious
lips,’ he murmurs down, his eyes landing on my mouth.  I can hardly
breathe at the intensity of his gaze.  What the fuck!

‘Don’t
get me wrong here I would have no problem in taking back what’s owed to me from
your father before disposing of you.’ He confesses, my stomach clenches. 
‘But, there’s something in your eyes that has me totally mesmerised. I want you
to taste that good you crave so badly, would I rather you taste it with
me?  Absolutely!’ He breathes out a long breath of air.  ‘If I can’t
have you, Sophie, I want a taster. You hear me?’

I
nod, I can do this, I can pretend for one kiss.  Then I’m out of here.

‘You
back down on that deal, Sophie, I won’t be feeling so charitable, you
understand?’ He warns me.

‘I
understand,’ I nod.  

‘Let’s
call your dad,’ he releases me, and I almost stumble on my wobbly limbs.

Luke,
as he insists I call him, invites me to sit in his leather chair, which is
tucked behind his desk and perches on the desk to the side of me.  I call
the number, from what I presume is a burner phone, my body strung tight and asked
to be put through to my father. For a moment I worry that he won’t take my
call.  When the receptionist informs me, she is connecting me I hand over
the phone to Luke, relief flowing through me.

I
sit back and listen as his voice turns menacing as he threatens my father with
a repeat of Ollie, if he doesn’t comply with his demands.  I can’t hear my
father’s side of the conversation, but, I realise by the touch of Luke’s eyes
to mine that he intends to cough up the funds, again.  My body almost
physically dissolves as the relief returns and replaces the ice flowing through
my veins as they set up an arrangement for a drop off the following day.

‘Seems
as if daddy loves you after all,’ Luke states after he ends the call.

‘No,’
I scoff.  ‘I warned my father after me came him.  He values his
existence more than anyone else.’

He
assesses me gently.  ‘How could that be?’ He murmurs.

I drop
my head back tiredly against the back of the chair. 

‘Come
on, let’s get you home and to bed,’ he announces. 

For
a split second, I think he is intending on releasing me, so that I can finally get
home to Nate.  But, it soon becomes apparent that he is referring to his
home.  I just hope and pray he doesn’t mean to take me to his bed.

For
the next hour I detach from my emotions and the surreality of the situation as I
am swiftly escorted out of the building and into another shiny black
vehicle.  We exit via a different section of the underground car park and
onto a street to the rear of the property.  I am sat in the back of the
car with Luke, and there are two men sitting in the front.  Thirty minutes
into the journey, Luke explains that he is going to blindfold me to prevent me
from being able to rediscover our location.  I promptly perceive this as a
positive, knowing that if he had any intention of getting rid of me, he
wouldn’t have bothered.

I
lay back in the sudden darkness and begin to concentrate my thoughts on
Nate.  ‘Did you hurt him?’ I ask, knowing he is looking at me.

‘Not
much,’ he assures me. ‘Prevented him from getting where he intended, was all,’
he responds casually.

I
nod, at least that’s something.

When
we arrive at our destination, the blindfold remains as Luke grasps my hand and
talks me out of the car.  When I am standing up, disorientated by the
darkness, I feel his lips in my ear.   ‘I’ve got you,’ he whispers,
seductively, guiding me forward with one hand at my hip another holding mine
tight. 

When
my feet hit what feels like tiles signalling our entrance to the building, his
hands remove the blindfold.  Luke is standing incredibly close as I blink
against the brightness. 

‘Those
fucking eyes, could disarm a man,’ he turns, ‘this way,’ I follow like a puppy.

********

When
Luke shows me into, what I presume is a guest room with an attached bathroom, I
begin to relax.  Surely he wouldn’t go to all this trouble if he was going
to dispose of me.  If he wanted to rape me, or murder me, would he care
about making me comfortable first?  I think not. 

I
try to look out of the window, but the shutters that cover the glass are locked
tight.  I jump at a knock on the door.  It automatically opens and in
walks
smiler
with my case in tow. 

‘Open
it!’ He instructs, bluntly.

‘What?’
I gape stupidly towards him.

‘I
need to see if there are any electronic devices,’ he explains.

I
pull out my iPad and laptop from my case and hand them over to the huge man
with the wide smile.  ‘I’ll get them back?’

‘That’s
up to Mr. Ericson, he wants you showered and downstairs for dinner in thirty
minutes. He says to wear something pretty,’ he declares.

‘Err,
what constitutes as pretty in Mr. Ericson’s eyes?’ I mutter. 

‘Dress
and heels,’ he turns and tips up the entire contents of my case onto the
bed. 

‘Excuse
me! Is there any need for that?’ I scold him, grabbing at my new lace underwear
purchased in London with Nate in mind.

‘Gotta
check,’ his hands move swiftly through my belongings.

‘I
assure you, I don’t have anything else,’ I stand with my hands on my hips,
providing the tall man a look of ice.

‘Then,
you don’t mind if I check,’ he ignores my stance, although his lips twitch
slightly.

Once
he accepts that there are no means of communication within my luggage, he
leaves the room throwing me a cheesy grin along the way.  I distinctly
hear the click of a lock turning on the opposite side of the doorway and know
that, as luxurious as the setting was, it was still a prison. 

The
shower is divine, after a ten-hour flight with next to zero hours sleep, plus
the added stress of being abducted from the airport, I allow the water to
cascade over my tired, achy body to soothe my tense muscles.  Luke assured
me that Nate was okay, probably pissed and worried about me, but he’s alive and
in one piece. I have to take his word I have no choice.  I let the relief
of that knowledge drip through my veins in an attempt to relax me further. 
Tomorrow, the money will be received, and Nate and I can resume with our envisioned
plans for the future.  All I have to do is get through tonight, dinner and
a night’s sleep in a soft bed, I tell myself. 

A
niggle in my brain sighs deeply. Somehow I don’t think it’s going to be that
easy.

I
dress, as instructed, in
something pretty
, not wishing to upset Luke in
any way.  As things stand now, I have hope. I fuck it up, and I am
history.  Luke, has thankfully taken a liking to me and pledges he wants for
me to have that piece of good that is Nate.  I have to believe that, or I
will curl into a ball and die alone in this paradise.

Smiler
is waiting for me outside my room.  The door is unlocked for
my departure. His eyes skim over my black dress and silver strappy heels, and a
gleam of appreciation appears in the depth of his gaze.

‘You
approve?’ I snap, irritated by his blatant ogling.

‘This
way,’ he ignores my snipe, turning down the corridor from which I came not an
hour beforehand.  He leads me down the stairs to a huge reception room
that has a table that could quite easily seat twelve people.  At the end
of the long wooden table, two place settings have been set with crystal glasses
and the finest silver cutlery.

Luke
Ericson is standing over a laptop in the corner of the room, but turns to my
arrival.  He has also changed out of his grey suit into black dress
trousers and a starched white shirt, the top two buttons casually open, the
sleeves rolled up.  He is undeniable stunning.

‘Sophie,’
his voice is as smooth as chocolate.  He walks towards me, his eyes
appraising me from toe to head. I observe as his eyes flare, his lips tilt, and
he shakes his head.  ‘You look sensational,’ he comments, his eyes finally
reaching mine.  ‘An absolute vision of beauty,’ he charms.

‘Thank
you,’ I glance around, anywhere but his penetrating glance.

‘Sophie!’
His voice is curt, and I immediately fix my eyes to his in question.

‘When
you are in a room with me, you give me the benefit of your full attention,’ he
announces.  ‘I need to know you are here with me, yeah?’

‘Sorry,’
I mumble, my stomach clenching.  I mustn’t piss him off, ‘I’m not very
good with compliments,’ I murmur, quietly.

He
evaluates my expression before frowning, ‘why the hell not?’

I
shrug, uncomfortably.

He
steps towards me, and I fight against the urge to step back.  I know he
won’t like that, so decide to stand perfectly still. His hand cups my nape
pulling me against him as he did in his office, I fall against him, and his
fingers move to my jaw, lifting it until I am gazing up into his handsome face.

‘How
serious are things with the detective?’ He purrs, seductively.

‘I
love him,’ I respond, instantly.

‘If
you hadn’t met him?’ I know what he is asking me.

I
swallow down the anxiety in my throat and try not say anything to offend him.
‘You know you are easy on the eyes,’ I announce, ‘and as a person, you intrigue
me too, Luke,’ I admit. ‘But, I have to tell you, I’m not keen on your career of
choice.’

His
shoulders move up and down as he chuckles silently, ‘no, I’m probably not the
ideal choice for someone’s daughter,’ he provides me a rare smile, which I
can’t help but return.  His eyes move to my lips and I all but hold my
breath. He didn’t inform me of exactly when he was expecting the kiss, I guessed
that would happen when he released me, but right now he looked as if he wanted
to devour me.

‘Sir,’
a voice interrupts us, Luke releases me from his hold and his face becomes
blank as he looks to the interjector.

‘Take
a seat, Sophie,’ he points to one of the place settings and strolls out to the
door, where a suit is waiting. 

They
have a conversation as a woman hustles in with a jug of water with quarters of
lemons bobbing on the surface, and a bottle of what appears to be champagne in
a silver ice bucket, setting them both in between the plates. 

Luke
returns and takes his seat beside me, and the food begins to arrive.  The
meal is an a la carte menu that contains numerous courses.  I pick at my
food, too distracted by my surroundings to enjoy the deliciously prepared feast. 
Luke asks me about myself as we eat, but I know he already has all the
information I provide.  I do, however, enjoy the magnificent champagne,
which is clearly expensive, the bubbles bursting in my mouth. 

‘You
like champagne?’ He asks as he tops it up for the third time.

‘I
like that champagne,’ I correct him, the haziness it provides blurring the tension
of my situation.

‘You
should, it’s a good one,’ he notifies me, blandly.

I begin
to relax, knowing I should remain alert, but, I also know it is courtesy of the
champagne that has gone directly to my head.

‘Tell
me about your childhood,’ he commands, not asks.

I
tell him about my childhood, he nods and answers in the right places and by the
end, I have confided everything about my life, thus far. I refuse to share any
information about Nate as that wasn’t his to have. Although, I did confide to
him that I had never been in love before I met Nate, and how I had previously felt
like there was something wrong with me, a missing gene, perhaps? 

When
I questioned him about his love life, he became surprisingly candid.  He
declared that he loved only one woman in his life, his childhood sweetheart, who
left him for a guy that later started to smack her around, other than that he
liked to fuck good looking women.  His words not mine.

‘You
have a woman right now?’ I probe.

‘No
one I want to do any more than fuck,’ he offered, ‘why, you want to audition
for the position?’

‘No,
thank you,’ my insides clench as I move my eyes down to my meal, which I continue
to push around my plate.  I feel his eyes burning into me, ‘how did you
get into your line of business?’ I ask, gently.

His
eyes hold me still for a second, ‘something I fell into,’ he announces,
vaguely.  ‘Not exactly my career of choice, as you put it,’ he gestures to
the man standing by the door and the plates are rapidly whipped away. That was
the end of that conversation. 

‘We’ll
take drinks in the lounge,’ he informs the waitress, who merely nods.

We
enter the lounge, where a fire is crackling in a huge inglenook fireplace,
despite the warm weather.  Nerves flutter in my stomach as I wonder
whether this is a scene set for seduction? 

‘When
do you expect payment from me?’ I ask, unable to stand the wait, not knowing
when he intends to pounce.

‘Why,
excited?’ I hear the humour in his tone. I feel it’s best not to answer, ‘sit,’
he points to the sofa.  I sit, and my dress rides up, his glance swiftly
drops to the exposed flesh.  I am too frightened to tug at my dress,
knowing he will become irritated.  I eye him through my long lashes,
waiting for his next move.

The
waitress distracts him as she brings in coffee and a cheeseboard and places in
on the wooden coffee table in silence, before swiftly departing the room. 
His gaze moves back to mine. The way he is standing beside the fire, he looks
like the lord of the manor rather than a drugs lord, one hand on the mantel the
other in his trouser pocket. 

‘Will
you do the honours,’ he invites, pointing towards the tray.

I
nod and set about preparing the coffee asking whether he wants cream and sugar,
but he declines both.  I regard his toned frame and know that he obviously
works out to keep looking that good at his age.

‘How
old are you?’ I blurt out, without thinking.

‘How
old do you think I am?’ He looks amused by my interest.

‘Oh
no, that wouldn’t be a good move, if I get it wrong there may be consequences,’
I squint my eyes suspiciously.

He
grins, ‘let’s make this interesting, you get it wrong, the consequence will be
another kiss, you get it right, I release you of your obligation.’

‘My
obligation?’ I arch an eyebrow.

‘The
kiss in payment for your life,’ he states as if he is talking about something
casual rather than me stopping breathing, forever.

I observe
him for a moment, if I get this right I won’t have to kiss him if I get it wrong,
I have to kiss him twice.  How old is he? He allows me the stillness to
stroke my eyes over his features assessing.  My eyes drop to his hands;
they say you can tell a person’s age from their hands.  His fingers are
soft, long and not too wrinkly, I make a decision, ‘forty-eight,’ I announce,
bravely. 

He
grins, before beckoning me with his finger. 

‘Am
I right or wrong?’ I ask, my heart beating like crazy inside my chest.

‘Come
here and I’ll tell you,’ he instructs dominantly, ‘and don’t make me tell you
again,’ he adds.

Fuck!
I stand on shaky legs, toss back the last of my champagne, and run my hands
down my dress to push it back down over my hips. I step towards him, stopping a
foot away. 

‘Closer,’
he demands.

‘Sir,’
a deep voice interrupts and I have never been more grateful.

‘Out!’
he growls over to the suit, ‘now!’

I
turn to see that the space at the doorway is now empty when I turn back Luke’s
eyes are angry.  At me?

‘You
angry at me?’ I whisper, they immediately soften.

‘No,’
he responds swiftly.  ‘Step closer, Sophie,’ his voice is now quietly
dominant.

I
step up to him, my hands at my sides, tension in my limbs.

‘Right
or wrong?’ I whisper up, feeling suddenly brave.

His
hand snakes out and circles my waist surprisingly gently, landing on the small
of my back.  ‘Wrong!’ He smiles, his eyes to my lips.  ‘You owe me a
forfeit,’ he murmurs.  ‘I’ll take it now,’ he decides.

Fuck! 
I lift up on my tip toes and place my lips gently against his and drop back
down.

‘Consider
the consequence paid,’ I attempt to step away, but his arm holds me firm.

‘What
was that?’ He enquires, lightly.

‘Your
kiss,’ I smile, deciding to charm him into letting me get away with that. 

‘Fuck
no!’ he explodes, ‘you remember my request, Sophie?’

‘This
isn’t the kiss in exchange for my life, this is the kiss because I got your age
wrong,’ I tease, the alcohol fuelling my courage. 

‘Every
kiss is to save your life,’ he updates me, seriously.  ‘And that wasn’t a
kiss worthy of your life,’ he reminds me, sarcastically.