Relentless Sinner

Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

Gabriella

I press my hands against the smooth granite walls of the shower, bow my head, and allow the cool spray of water to pour over me.

It flows down my head, my neck, my shoulders, then over my weary body. I wish it could soothe my mind but there are too many conflicting thoughts clashing around in there.

Since Cora left I’ve been thinking about my escape plan and where I could escape from. The idea that came to me was the hospital.

Prior to this disaster, I was still volunteering on the brain injury unit. They think I’m in L.A. now starting my journey to become a doctor. I left the position open so I could do a few hours when I came home on vacation.

If I could convince Jaxon to allow me to return to that it would give me a chance to plan better with Cora.

I’m sure that when Jaxon allows me to leave the property I’ll have guards with me and around me all the time. Being at a big place like the hospital will make it easier for me to give them the slip.

At least I hope so. Everything I’ve thought of so far is all theory based. My theory , which is based on what I hope will happen.

The truth is I’m scared. Scared that nothing will work. And that this is really it for me. If it is I’ll have to marry Jaxon. Then I don’t know what my life will be like.

I shake my head, disturbing the flow of water.

I need to stay positive. Believe the plan will work and it will .

Lifting my head, I run my hands through my hair then grab the shampoo and give my hair a quick wash.

Five minutes later I turn off the shower, get out, and dry myself off.

I’m going to spend the rest of the night reading some online medical journals that I’m still subscribed to, then watch TV. That should help me go to sleep.

I’ve been stalling with my studies because it’s heartbreaking that I’m not at med school. However I realized that avoiding what I love will only hurt me.

Doing what I can now to get ahead of the game means my workload will be easier whenever I start—fingers and toes crossed for next year.

If nothing else, having the break in my studies gives me a chance to think about my career a lot more. At first I wanted to stay in New York and go to NYU. It has a wonderful research program for neurological diseases and conditions.

L.A. became the plan when Dad got more abusive. If I don’t have to worry about him I could go anywhere.

I wrap a big white towel around me, run some leave-in conditioner through my hair and walk out to the bedroom where I almost trip over myself when I see Jaxon standing by the window.

His back is turned to me and his shoulders have that massive look, defined against his gray shirt.

Shit. What is he doing here? I thought he’d be long gone by now.

God, please don’t tell me he’s not going.

“Relax, Krasota , I’m still heading to San Francisco.” His voice is a low, deep rumble that stirs panic inside me.

He turns slowly to face me and I hug the towel closer to my chest, suddenly aware that I’m naked underneath. The thought of being around him like this makes my pulse skitter like stones skipping across a lake.

“Hi,” I say, because I can’t think of anything else.

The hint of a smile flickers across his face, tightening the goosebumps already racing across my skin.

Jaxon’s gaze drops to my body and lingers there for far too long before climbing back up to meet my eyes. “I didn’t want to head out without saying goodbye first.”

“I’m sure it would have been fine.”

“Eager to get rid of me?”

I don’t answer. What am I supposed to say? A yes would get me in trouble. No would be a lie and he’d know.

He chuckles on seeing my reaction. “No answer, Krasota ?”

“It’s best if I don’t.”

“I thought I was in your good books? Or that we’d at least called a truce.”

I suppose we have called a truce to some degree but really, we haven’t. This is where I have to be clever. If I want him to agree to let me off the property I have to play nice regardless of how I feel. “Since you’re here I’d prefer talking about me leaving the house. That would be a useful conversation.”

“Maybe for you, but not me.”

“I’m sure you can understand that I’m bored.”

“That’s too bad. We’ll talk when I get back.”

I roll my eyes at him. “You’re determined to make everything more difficult, aren’t you?”

“Not so much. I just think I need to build trust with you first.”

“That is absolutely ridiculous. It’s more like me who needs to trust you. I’ve never met anyone like you before.”

His smile widens. “And you never will.”

“No. I won’t.” I don’t hold back the bitterness in my tone.

“I’m glad you know that.” He gives me a tight-lipped smile. “There are a few things I need to go over with you before I head out.”

“Like what?”

“Stuff to make sure you don’t get any bright ideas about running while I’m away.”

Great. It is like he knows what I’m thinking. “I’m not going to.”

“Better to be safe than sorry. On Monday Eve will accompany you into the city to the bridal shop. You’ll be traveling with an entourage of guards so don’t try anything. There will also be extra men at the house watching the property.”

“Expecting a war?” Because that sounds like overkill.

“No, I just like to make sure my people are safe when I’m not around. Having men who can deal with any situation helps me sleep better at night.”

“Well, I wouldn’t want your men to manhandle me and lock me away until you return.”

Jaxon steps forward and shoves his hands into his pockets. “No man who values his life would dare manhandle you and expect to live long enough in my presence to explain himself to me.”

The possessive, protective tone in his voice stuns me and I wonder if he would really kill someone for hurting me.

But didn’t he already do that? He killed the men at the compound who took me. Except now he’s talking about his own men.

“I have no plans to run, so you don’t have to kill anyone.”

“That’s good to hear.” He smirks.

I pull the towel around me tighter when it loosens and his gaze drifts down my body again.

I need to put some clothes on. He’s already seen way too much of me. I glance at the bed, at the night shirt I’d laid out to put on. I walk over and grab it, hoping that Jaxon will leave soon so I have privacy and peace to change.

“Saw you watching me in the pool this morning.” He gives me a slow, easy grin. “You should have joined me.”

I don’t know why he’s making small talk. I wish he wouldn’t. If we’re not talking about me being allowed to leave the house then I don’t want to talk to him. Talking about other things seems to open the door for unwanted feelings I don’t want to deal with. “You seemed quite happy with the company you had.”

Jaxon places his hand over his heart. “Don’t tell me you were jealous of my assistant.”

“I’m not. And I don’t care what she is to you.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes.”

He raises his thick brows and gives me a hard stare. “So you’d be okay with your husband sleeping with his assistant?”

A stab of envy stirs in my gut and I feel silly again because I should feel no such thing. “You’re not my husband. And even when we take our vows it won’t be real.”

With that easy grin languid on his face Jaxon makes his way over to me and stops a breath away, close enough that I can smell hints of his scent lurking beneath his aftershave.

“You know, it’s come to my attention that you’re not nearly as scared of me as you should be.”

My breath hitches. “You want me to be scared of you?”

“I’m not sure yet.” He reaches for my neck and slides his fingers around my throat. His grip isn’t tight enough to hurt me but I’m aware that he could snap my neck with one flick if he wanted to. “That might be a problem for both of us.”

“Why?” I rasp, hardly able to get the word out.

“I like that smart mouth of yours, Krasota . I can imagine stuffing it with my cock for pissing me off. But I also like the fact that you think you can hand me my ass, when you can’t.” He leans closer and hardens his gaze but that playfulness still shines in his eyes.

This is that thing again. That thing he does that throws me and I can’t tell which emotion he’s displaying.

Now that I’m watching him do it again I think I’m right. This is part of his ploy. It’s like a predator chasing its prey before devouring it just to get a kick out of terrifying something weaker.

The only thing I need to be worried about when it comes to this man is danger.

My pulse quickens and I tremble under the weight of his stare as he switches his gaze to the place on my neck where his fingers are. His grip tightens and he reaches between us to grab the nightshirt from me.

“Give me back my shirt.” I sound like a mouse desperate to survive.

“No.”

“I need to put clothes on.”

“I like you better this way.”

He slides his tongue over his bottom lip and walks me back into the wall. Before I can get over the impact of him touching me he rips the towel off me, exposing my naked body.

I shriek and try to cover myself but he stops me by pinning both my hands over my head. Then he presses his body into me and looks down at my nakedness.

I writhe against him, trying to fight him off but all he does is smile at me with menace in his eyes. “Let go of me, you asshole.”

“No.” His voice is thick with raw desire. His gaze drops back to my body, taking in the sudden heaviness in my breasts and my tight nipples, then he looks down further to my pussy and smiles. “Like I said, I like you better this way.”

Damn it. I’m just as helpless as that first night. The only difference between then and now is that I felt like I had a little more control. This time I have nothing but the fear suffocating me and his scent of power overwhelming me.

“What are you going to do to me?” I whisper, taking in that hungry look in his eyes that makes me think he wants to devour me.

“Something I should have done long before now.”

Jaxon swoops down like a hawk and crushes his lips to mine, then he shoves me harder up against the wall and kisses me with such intensity that I forget to think.

The searing kiss makes my head spin, leaving me delirious. The place between my legs aches from the impact of his lips on mine and, just like that, I lose myself.

His hands slide up to my face, angling my jaw so he can deepen the kiss. Then he flicks his tongue through the seam of my lips and it feels like he claims my soul.

I think there was a point where I should have tried to resist or something. Anything. This man is my captor. But my body skipped over all those details and decided it wanted the malevolent devil.

His hands roam down my body, cupping my breasts. Embarrassingly, I moan into his mouth in response.

He moves away from my lips, guiding his kisses along my neck and down, down to take my right breast into his mouth. Then he sucks and I feel the pull from the tips of my toes right up to the top of my head.

The wild sensation makes me gasp and arch my body into his mouth.

Shit . I’ve lost control of myself and my damn mind.

I dive deeper into the realm of oblivion when he cups my sex and pushes his fingers into my pussy.

How long has it been since anybody touched me like this?

Too long. Never .

No one has ever touched me with such possession before. It’s as if Jaxon knows how to make my body respond to whatever he does to me.

“You’re soaked, Krasota ,” he mutters, flicking his tongue over my nipple.

“I’m…” I can’t talk or think to say any more than that.

“Wet for me. So fucking wet for me.” With a sinful grin plastered across his handsome face he starts a slow steady pump into my pussy. In and out. In and out.

I grab his shoulders, hating that I love his touch so much and that… I want more .

He catches my face again with his free hand and stares down at me while he continues pumping his fingers into my body.

“Listen to me and listen well. I’m not going to repeat myself.” His jaw clenches and he bares his teeth. “When we take our vows it’s fucking real, whether you want it to be or not. You become my wife and I will be your husband. If you even think of being with another man he’s dead and you’ll know why people call me the Beast. Do you hear me?”

I nod and try to look away but he forces my gaze back to him.

“Answer me. Say the fucking words.” He pumps harder, like he’s punishing me instead of giving me pleasure.

“Yes. I hear you.”

“Good girl.”

He strokes my clit and I hate myself for enjoying his touch. How pathetic am I?

What the fuck is wrong with me?

Why don’t I want him to stop?

God, I can’t even explain myself out of this one. There are no words. Or reasoning, other than the fact that I like what he’s doing to me.

When I moan out loud, Jaxon grins, then he returns to my lips. And this time I kiss him back with the same need and possession he shows me, unable to hide how I feel.

He pumps harder into my pussy, finger-fucking me until the pressure explodes in my core and I come.

I come so hard I’m shaking uncontrollably from deep within.

It’s not until I calm that Jaxon stops kissing me and pulls his fingers out of my pussy.

He leans away, lifts his fingers to the light so we both can see my juices coating them, then he smiles and licks them off.

My eyes snap wide and I’m utterly shocked at him and myself.

His smile grows and he stuns me further by grabbing my hand and pressing it to the huge hard bulge of his cock that’s very noticeable against his pants.

“Next time you get jealous, remember this. It’s for you.” He clamps my fingers around his cock, making sure I feel its hardness and thickness. Lust and dominance fill his eyes, igniting the heat already blazing inside me. “See you in a few days, wife. Looks like we’re in for a very interesting time.”

He releases me and looks me up and down with that maddening smile lingering on his face. Then he walks away, leaving me feeling so unnerved I’m rooted to the spot.

I can’t even steady my breathing or quell the fire still coursing through me.

I watch him go through the door and realization hits that I’ve dug myself into an abyss.

I’m attracted to Jaxon and now he knows it. More importantly, now I know it without doubt. The moment you can label an emotion means it’s no longer something you can deny.

How can I be attracted to my captor or want him when I’m planning to escape?