Chapter 3

Jenna

Escape.

That’s all that was on my mind. Not saving my life.

Not the fact he was a killer.

Just getting away.

I kicked and squirmed, almost managing to pull away from his hold but he was too fast for me.

“To hell with you!” My screech was short lived when he slapped his hand over my mouth to keep me quiet.

Breathe. Relax. Breathe. Relax.

The rush of adrenaline was finally wearing off, leaving me in a state of horrific terror and nothing else. He slowly lowered his body over mine, his weight nearly crushing me.

“While I appreciate the fear you have, the concern from what you witnessed, I’m losing patience with you. Here’s what we’re going to do. You’re going to accept your punishment like a good girl without trying shit like that again, or the punishment I dole out will be much, much worse. Do I make myself clear?”

I’ll be damned if his voice wasn’t soothing, giving me a strange sense of being protected instead of threatened. I was driven into a fog, incapable of speaking until he shook me, growling in my ear.

“Do. I?”

“Yes,” I barely got out, shaking like a leaf.

“Good girl. We start over.”

He continued kneading my skin for a couple of minutes before returning to the spanking, strikes hitting my upper thighs as well as directly across my sit spot. I was worried about how the scrubs would feel on my naked ass instead of whether or not I would get out of here alive.

It was obvious my priorities weren’t on straight, or I was prepared to believe this brutal assailant that he wasn’t planning on killing me.

My breathing became more scattered, the pain growing as fast as my arousal as he brought the belt down six additional times. Maybe it was the whooshing sound or the crack of his wrist that really got to me.

I wasn’t certain how many more he’d issued but all I could do was concentrate on my breathing, the sound the belt made as it sliced across my skin.

At some point, I was no longer moving at all, accepting this as if it was a normal situation. The only thing I could control was to try to keep from hyperventilating. I needed to remember every detail.

“That should do it, princess. Now, you’re going to fix me up like I told you to do. I’ll repeat myself, which is something I do not like to do. Don’t try anything again or the next punishment will be something you won’t like. Do you understand me?”

I was shaking all over, unable to push myself away. “Ye… Yes. Yes. Okay? I’ll help you.”

The assailant seemed to know I was having difficulty, helping me to a standing position. I took several deep breaths, clenching my eyes shut as he even acted gentlemanly, yanking up my sweatpants. Then I’ll be damned if the bastard didn’t pat my ass like he was telling me I’d been a good little girl.

He backed away, giving me space, grabbing the things from the floor and placing them on one edge of the table. While I eyed the other scalpel, I decided I’d prefer to try to live, and the only way of doing that was to dig the bullet out. Well, maybe I could exact a little revenge while doing so and twist the sharp blade inside his shoulder.

I heard a rustling sound, which forced me to turn around. He was painfully removing his shirt, wincing as he pulled it over his head.

That’s the moment that all time really seemed to stop as his bare chest came into view. I’d seen gorgeous men at the gym before, men who spent time honing their muscles. I’d also seen one too many who’d been so bulked up they looked like a comic book hero, but this man was a perfect in between. Every muscle in his chest and arms was sculpted to perfection, as if the Greek god I’d thought about had offered him the finest granite to build his body’s infrastructure.

In addition, his chest and upper arms were covered in the most colorful tattoos I’d ever seen, beautiful artwork that must have taken days or weeks to complete. I allowed my gaze to roam, to bask in his utter beauty until the bastard seemed to notice.

He chuckled and flexed his muscles on purpose but that started the blood flowing in earnest from the bullet wound.

“Stop that unless you want to bleed out in my clinic and I won’t take very kindly to that. Now, sit on the table. Do you want me to give you a painkiller or shoot you up with drugs to put you to sleep?” Sure, I was being crude, but I had a feeling what his answer would be.

“That won’t be necessary, sweetheart. I’ve been through a lot worse. Just get on with it. Although you wouldn’t happen to have any liquor in this place. Would you?”

“What does this look like, a bar?” A small level of defiance had returned and I bit my tongue because of it as I walked toward the sink. I was tempted not to wash my hands but even after what had occurred, I couldn’t live with myself if he developed sepsis. God. I was exhausted and nuts.

He chuckled all over again as I grabbed some paper towels. “What’s your name?”

“Do you want my address and social security number too so you can keep tabs on me? Maybe come to my house late one night and finish the job, eliminating a witness?” Great. Let’s just push every button and see what happens.

He lifted a single eyebrow, the twinkling in his eyes far too mesmerizing.

“Fine. Jenna. My name is Jenna.”

“See. That didn’t hurt so badly, did it?”

“What’s your name?”

“I think it’s better you didn’t know that. Don’t you?”

“Then I’ll just call you asshole.” I pulled a clean towel from one of the drawers, forced to reach around the man to grab the rubbing alcohol. Just being in close proximity to him make my toes curl, but the strange rush of electricity when we were only centimeters apart caught me off guard. He was watching everything I did when I opened the cap, pouring a hefty amount of liquid on the cloth.

“Whatever will work, sweetheart.”

“Please stop calling me that.” I lifted my gaze then tried my best to concentrate on his injury. Unfortunately, the bullet hadn’t been a through and through. I’d removed a bullet or two from hunting dogs while in school, but this was entirely different. “This might sting.”

“As I said, I can take it.”

As I proceeded to clean the wound, he didn’t even tense. Maybe the guy was made of Teflon or maybe he really had been shot dozens of times. As I allowed my eyes to roam his chest, I noticed healed bullet wounds. Or maybe they were knife wounds. I wasn’t certain. “What business are you in, asshole?”

“Casinos and wineries. A couple nightclubs.”

It was my turn to laugh.

“You’re surprised.” I wasn’t certain whether his question was rhetorical or genuinely curious.

“I’m certain you’re also into extortion and blackmail, and heinous acts of violence as well. Right? I can’t imagine what your hobbies are.”

“You’re very opinionated for such a beautiful woman.”

I took a deep breath as I pulled the scalpel in my hand, pouring some alcohol over the blade. I was more nervous than I’d ever been performing surgery on a furry baby. “I need to be. Living in New York, you either are tough or you become a victim.” I placed the blade against his skin yet pulled it back. “What am I saying? I am a goddamn victim after all. I don’t know if I can do this. You’re not a dog or a kitty. I’ve even worked on some wild animals given a class I took but a human? I could damage your muscle or your nerves.”

He snapped his hand around my wrist. “It’s okay. I trust you. If something happens, you’re not to blame so stop worrying. Trust in all the training you received from an Ivy League school. I’m curious why you became a veterinarian.”

Now he chose to toss that back into my face. I swallowed and shifted into the zone I forced myself to be in when I worked on furry babies. “When I was little, I used to care for squirrels if something happened. I was a fearless kid, even bringing snakes into the house. My mother was horrified but I adored all creatures. We had a dog when I was growing up, a beautiful Irish setter. One day something happened, and he got his leg caught in a hole. My parents were kind of freaking out, my baby sister bawling her eyes out. I was the calm one at eight years old. I saved him from losing his leg, or so the old veterinarian told my parents at the time. After that, I just knew what I wanted to be when I grew up and I followed through. It’s been tough, especially since my parents don’t have much money, but I did it and I’m tremendously proud of myself for working two or sometimes three jobs while keeping straight A’s.”

Why the hell I was spouting off to him about my accomplishments was silly but just another product of how nervous I was. I’d been in difficult situations before, almost mugged once but nothing like this. Nothing prepared you for facing a man who’d killed someone else. It didn’t matter what the reasons were, but I asked anyway as I tried to be gentle in searching for the bullet.

“Why did you kill that guy?”

“You mean other than he was about to put a bullet in your head?” He lowered his head, his hot breath cascading across my forehead and cheek and I was certain I’d become lightheaded all over again.

I lifted my head and the realization our lips were less than an inch apart made my mouth slide into Sahara dry. “Yeah, that.”

“Because he betrayed my family. He stole money and information, eager to provide it to one of our enemies. I couldn’t allow that to happen. I traveled a long distance to make certain he never did it again.”

“Oh.” I had no idea what to say. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s funny. I think you mean that.”

“Actually, I do.”

“Why don’t you tell me more about yourself.”

Maybe the jerk was trying to get me to relax. Fine. I’d talk. I’d always been good at that.

I continued working, jabbering on about the stupid jobs I’d had while in college, the friendships I’d developed, and even the reason I’d selected Brooklyn. As well as adding in why I had like one hundred dollars and change in my bank account. The insanity only continued when I mentioned my boyfriend of three years had dumped me. Well, that wasn’t entirely accurate since I’d gone into a diner to celebrate signing the lease with my besties, finding him locking lips with some unknown floozy. “And my goddamn landlord is a prick. He came onto me, telling me that if I slept with him, I’d get a break on my lease. Who does that shit?”

Why did I sense he was paying very close attention to everything I said?

What I found fascinating was that he was suddenly taking deep breaths, every muscle tensed and for some reason, I knew it had nothing to do with the fact I’d finally reached the bullet. I moved toward the drawer, finding a pair of long tweezers.

“Bastard,” he growled.

“Which one?”

“Both.”

“Yeah, you have no idea. I almost kicked him in the balls when I signed the lease but thought better of it. This is really going to hurt. You’re sure you don’t want something for the pain?”

He leaned forward, pressing his face into my hair. I was at a point in this ridiculous procedure I could have nicked another artery, forced to steady my nerves and calm the building rage.

“That’s all I need, sweetheart.”

Clearly, the man hadn’t heard me before when I’d told him not to use any terms of endearment. I took a deep breath myself, trying to avoid becoming intoxicated by his incredible scent before grasping the bullet, slowly easing it from where it had been imbedded in his muscle. When I plopped it down into the steel pan, I felt a sense of relief.

I proceeded to add a clean dressing, still trying to be gentle. What was up with that?

“I’m going to strongly advise you to have this looked at by a real doctor. Take it or leave it. I really don’t care.” I grabbed the pan and bloody towels, tossing the laundry into the hazardous bin, easing the pan with the bullet into the sink. For some reason, I had a feeling I should save it.

At least he didn’t waste any time, jumping off the table and grabbing his shirt. I was surprised he was suddenly quiet and that he left me in the examination room, heading to the reception area. I washed my hands before heading out, trying to keep from begging for my life.

He already had his jacket on, the dark material hiding the blood but not the hole in his lapel. When I walked closer, folding my arms, he eyed me carefully for far too long. Was it possible he was debating how he was going to kill me so he could easily dispose of the body?

He sighed then reached into one of his jacket pockets inside the coat. Oh, God. I knew this was it. He was preparing to shoot me or worse. When he pulled out a thick envelope, placing it on the receptionist desk, I found myself leaning forward.

“Jenna. I’m going to give you a very strong piece of advice.”

“Sure,” I whispered. “Why not?”

“You’re a strong and beautiful woman and I applaud all of your accomplishments but when faced with a brutal criminal, just shut up and do what he tells you to do. Now, you’re going to leave the clinic tonight and forget that you ever saw me. If you dare go to the police or tell anyone, I will know. I’m that powerful. And if that happens, then I’ll be forced to become your worst nightmare. Does that sound like something you can do, remaining quiet that is?”

It was another one of those moments that seemed so surreal all I could do was nod like some bobblehead doll.

“Good girl. Now, promise me.”

“I… promise.”

“Excellent. I left you a payment for your services.”

“You didn’t need to do that,” I told him. What? Really? He owed me a lot.

“Yeah, I feel like I did.”

Why were my feet moving? Why was I moving closer to him? When I was suddenly only a foot away from him, we locked eyes, which was a crazy thing that only happened in the movies. Reaching out, he brushed the rough pads of his fingers down my cheek, once again whispering something in Greek. This time, I wished I knew what he’d said to me.

I was frozen, holding my breath as the electricity I’d felt before returned like a hit with a sledgehammer. When he was satisfied, he curled his fingers, turning toward the door. At that moment, he did something so unexpected that I knew the gesture would haunt me for weeks if not months to come.

He thrust me against the wall, planting one hand on the side of my head as he gripped my jaw with the other. Then without hesitation or caring if I wanted him to touch me anywhere, he crushed his mouth over mine.

I’d been kissed by several men before, some good and some bad experiences. But the passion this horrible man exuded unleashed something from the very depth of my being. I was caught up in the craziest moment of all, enjoying the taste of him, the feel of his hefty weight pushed against me. I bent my knee, pressing my leg against his thigh, the slight shift allowing me to feel his throbbing cock all over again.

And damn if my mouth wasn’t watering at the wicked thought of having him drive his shaft into the tight depths of my pussy. I wasn’t certain how long the magnificent kiss lasted as he explored the darkest parts of my mouth with his tongue, but I was completely lightheaded.

Every sound he made was primal, possessive. Every touch of his hand further ignited my core. When he finally broke the insanity of the moment, his chest heaving, all I could do was press my head against the wall.

“Any man who would dare cheat on you or hurt you in any way is a fool. You are amazing, Jenna. Never forget that.”

And with that, he was gone, leaving me with an ache in my pussy and fear tingling every muscle.