5. Maddy

Chapter 5

Maddy

I could not believe that man. The utter audacity of making me go through that again. And not listening to my boundary? Fuck that shit. I might be going through something, and, yes, they might be here to help me, but that did not mean I was about to be some timid little mouse, cowering under his demands like that.

Fuck him.

And fuck this place.

In fact…

I stopped my incessant pacing around my room, thankful yet again for the lock that kept them from me. Stomping over to the closet, I pulled my suitcase from where it sat, tearing my clothes out of the closet a million times faster than I had put them in just this last night.

Had it already been a day? Honestly, I had lost track of time during the interrogation session with Major Fuckwad. A glance at the clock told me it was nearing noon, but I didn't care. At least I had daylight.

More haphazardly than I'd ever allowed myself under normal circumstances, I threw my few belongings back into my bags, zipping them closed with so much aggression the zipper almost yanked off its tracks.

"Fuck this place. And fuck that man," I grumbled under my breath, lifting the two suitcases off the bed and heading to the door. I wasn't about to stay in this place a second longer. Not if I was going to be pressured and coerced into reliving my greatest nightmare — and for what? For their amusement? No way.

I'd walk to the nearest bus stop or something and head straight to the police station. Surely the detective who brought me here could find somewhere else for me to stay. Anywhere else. Hell, couldn't they put me up in a hotel with a security guard or something? At least then I could order room service and be left to my own devices.

I tugged at the door violently, letting it fly from my fingertips as I stormed out of the room. I didn't even flinch when the door hit the bedroom wall with a loud crash. Hell, I fucking hoped it left a hole for these fuckers to have to fix.

Not my problem.

Not anymore.

The sound of voices below didn't affect me for a second as I stomped down the stairs, my suitcase hitting each step with a loud boom along the way. Could I have picked it up and carried it? Sure. Was I about to? Fuck no.

As soon as my foot hit the ground from the final stair, I collided with something hard, pushing me back towards the floor and staircase behind me .

My bags fell from my hands, crashing against the floor as the world turned on its axis.

Except…

I didn't fall.

Two muscular arms wrapped around me. Hands gripped at my back, pulling me back up against the warmth of a man's chest.

My breath left my lungs, the sheer strength of this man shocking me as he held me aloft, keeping me from crashing to the ground. My eyes flitted from the buttons that tugged a little too much at his chest, the fabric pulling just a little above what felt like rippling muscles hidden beneath, and onwards up to deep blue eyes that were so vibrant, so intense, it nearly took my breath away. How had I never noticed his eyes before?

My mouth opened with a gasp of surprise.

His eyes locked on mine for only a moment before descending slowly, taking in my face — and then lower. I didn't miss the way his pupils dilated for just a moment, our chests pressing together with shuddery breaths.

Locked in that frozen moment, neither of us heard the sound of footsteps approaching.

"You guys, o…oh…" Sully's voice called from beside us, the oh of understanding shattering the moment as we both leaped apart as though burned.

The awkward silence that followed was deafening.

"So, what's going on here?" Sully asked, his hands tucked into his back pockets as he rocked back on his heels with a look of suspicion.

"My question exactly." Niko cleared his throat, and though I wasn't looking up at him, I could feel the heat of his gaze on me, even still.

"I'm leaving. That's what's happening," I spat out venomously.

"You're what?" Niko growled angrily. I couldn't lie. That growl was as sexy as it was terrifying.

"You heard me. Or are you deaf as well as an idiot? Let me spell it out for you, big guy," I mocked, patting his arm patronizingly. "I am getting the hell out of here, whether you like it or not."

"Over my dead body." The words were little more than a whisper. I could see the vein in his neck pulsating, his jaw clenched tightly shut in frustration or anger, probably both.

My eyes narrowed up at him, refusing to submit to his domineering demeanor.

"Well, then where would you like to be buried, because I'm leaving here, and I am not going to let an arrogant ass like you stop me," I seethed, leaning up on my tiptoes to lower the distance between our faces. I meant business, and I was not about to be bullied into staying here.

"Maddy, I know that it's difficult, but you really —" Sully began, but I quickly spun on my heel, my finger pointed at him.

"I am not talking to you." His mouth shut so fast it was comical. The beast of a man had the decency to look sheepish, unlike Nikolai, the Russian dictator. "You, on the other hand," I continued, turning back to the man in question. "You had better move out of my way and let me pass."

"You shall not pass."

"Listen, Gandalf, this isn't the Mines of Moria, and this isn't up for discussion." My finger pressed into his chest, and I kept my face angrily locked on his as the bulk of his muscle tensed under my finger.

I only got a growl of warning before his hands gripped my waist, lifting me clear off the ground and setting me on a stair until we were face to face. His fingers clutched my jaw, holding tightly enough to keep me still, but not quite strong enough to hurt.

"It is not safe for you to leave. I will not allow you to leave. You are here for protection. We are providing that protection. You may not like it, but you have to accept it."

His lips hovered so close to my own I could feel his breath fan against my face.

"I —" I began, but those fingers tightened on my jaw once more.

"You will take your things back upstairs and make peace with the situation. You don't like it. We don't like it. But you are to remain safe while the police work to take down the people who did this."

His fingers gentled, his grip releasing slightly from my jaw as his eyes bore into mine. There was fire and anger, of course, but beneath that was something else.

Fear .

He was afraid.

And if these men, these war veterans who offered their services to protect me, were scared… then I should be downright terrified. The weight of the situation settled over me, stifling my anger and frustrations un der a blanket of worry. I nodded my head slowly as he finally fully released my chin from his grasp.

Now freed, I turned and began gathering my bags. I was only a few steps up the stairway when I heard his whispered response. Two words that shot an unanticipated and completely unacceptable pang of arousal through me like a white-hot blade.

" Good girl. "

After such an awful morning, I was grateful to be spending my afternoon out of the damn house. It was Sully's idea, actually. I had to admit, for such a large man, standing a head taller than all the rest and with more muscles to boot, he was nothing more than a soft teddy bear. He had suggested heading outside to get some sun.

I carried a towel I had found in the bathroom as I walked across the yard towards the shop where Sully had mentioned the guys were out working on a car. It was apparently their means of income these days when they weren't busy providing protection for girls like me. I found a pleasant spot on the pavement that led into the large garage, laying my towel out carefully before slipping off my jean shorts and shirt to reveal the red bikini beneath. Some sunbathing was exactly what the doctor had ordered.

"Lookin' good, Red," Sully hollered as he made his way behind me, the cooler he carried looking small in his enormous hands. He had gone inside to make lunch for everyone, apparently.

I shot him a wink before pulling my sunglasses down over my eyes and laying back on the towel to relax in the sun. The sound of their chatter dulled in my mind as I focused instead on the sound of birds calling and the wind whispering through the trees. If I weren't forced to be here — pretty much against my will — I would have found it serene. But without a phone, a computer, or any access to my life outside of this pace, it was hell. Pure and utter —

"What do you think you're doing?" A gruff voice with a decidedly Russian accent spat at me from overhead. Shielding the sun from my eyes with my hand, I peered up at none other than Niko himself, staring down at me with his hands on his hips. It was almost comical, his stance. I could imagine him stomping his foot in frustration, and immediately set my intention to make that very delightful idea come to fruition.

"Sunbathing. What does it look like?" I laid back down, closing my eyes and ignoring whatever it was he seemed to be upset with.

"You should stay in the house," he all but growled. I cracked one eye open, grateful my sunglasses hid the fact that I was looking at him. He stood there seething, angry about God-only-knew what.

"I'm near the house. That counts."

"It doesn't count. You are in witness protection. Jesus Christ!" His hands flailed around in exasperation.

"So?"

"So? My God, do you have no self-preservation? Stay inside where no one can see you!" His raised voice did not scare me. Not one bit. I lifted myself onto my elbows, reclining as I looked up at him.

Lifting my shades from my eyes up onto my head to keep the hair out of my eyes, I gave him a piece of my mind. "Listen, buddy , we are in the middle of nowhere. There is no one around here. Hell, we are in the middle of your property, which is lined by trees. No one can see me here. You're being ridiculous."

"No, you're being ridiculous. And do not call me buddy." He replied with cold fury.

With an exaggerated sigh, I stood from my happy sunbathing haven and stared him down. Blazing sun be damned.

"Listen, buddy , and listen good. I am here. I'm forced to be here, so I'm here. But you are not going to keep me caged up in that house like some prisoner, while you are all out here doing stuff. I have no computer. No phone. No access to anyone or anything. And if you think for one second that I'm not safe sitting out here sunbathing where no one but the four of you can see me, then maybe you aren't doing your job to keep me safe. Give me one logical reason why I'm in danger out here." While I might be pissed at his arrogance and sheer lack of reasoning skills, I kept my tone calm and cool. I was right, and like it or not, he was about to come to terms with it.

"Because I said so."

Jesus, the arrogance of this man.

"If you cannot give me a logical reason, then you're just being an ass to be an ass. So, buddy ," I all but barked at him, "I am not about to listen to your ridiculous demands any longer. Be reasonable, or just stay out of my way. Got it? Buddy? " I jabbed my finger into his chest to drive my point home.

Just as I had begun to think I had made my point, his large hand wrapped around my smaller one, gripping it tightly and pulling my jabbing finger from his body.

A narrowing of his eyes was the only warning I got before my world turned on its axis. His hand gripped around the small of my back, hoisting me up in the air and flinging me over his shoulder in a fireman's carry, storming off towards the house.

"Put me down!" I screamed, only to be answered with chortles of laughter from the peanut gallery in the garage. Curses and threats poured from my lips like water from a pressure sprayer. One after the other, I cursed the very ground he walked on as he made his way into the house, slamming the door behind us with a resounding crash.

"I swear to God , if you do not put me down this very instant, I will —" but my words halted as he flung me back to my feet again in front of him. Standing mere inches apart, his eyes narrowed on me, piercing me with the heat of his fury.

"Listen, if you think—" I began my tirade anew, only to be cut off with a finger pressed against my lips.

"No, princess, you listen. It is my job to keep you safe. A job I take very seriously, I'll have you know. And if—"

"I am not about to sit here and be lectured by some soldier with a god complex. No thank you, Sir," I bit out. He growled in response, his hands gripping my upper arms. For a moment, I thought he might actually shake me. His eyes told me he wanted to.

"First of all, princess , I am not a soldier. I am a veteran of the Marine Corps, and so, a Marine. Get it right. Second, I do not have a god complex. I have a responsibility and an obligation."

"Well, you can take your responsibility and obligation to serve and protect or whatever and go fuck yourself with it, buddy."

He yelled in frustration, pulling away from me and running a hand through his thick, wavy hair.

"My responsibility is not to serve and protect. My responsibility is to keep your bratty little ass safe," he fumed.

"Bratty little ass, huh? Well, you're going to have to deal with the fact that this bratty little ass of mine is going to go sunbathe outside. Not everything has to be your way, you know. Maybe ease up and make some room for other people to have thoughts and ideas." Hands on my hips, I narrowed my gaze at him. I was not about to let up.

He leaned in close, closing the distance between us until nothing but our seething anger toward one another remained.

"Princess, if I had it my way, you'd be —" His words halted abruptly, the threat hanging there in the silence between us, unspoken, unknown. And, Christ, how I wanted to know whatever he was about to say.

"Cat got your tongue… buddy? " I knew I was playing with fire, but in that moment, I yearned for the burn.

A single second of silence passed between us, our labored breathing the only sound to be heard before his hands were on me, pressing me back into the wall behind me.

My head hit the wall with a soft thud, but I paid no heed as his face lowered towards mine.

I thought he was going to kiss me — but I was so fucking wrong.

The tip of his nose touched the edge of my jaw, his lips dangerously close to my ear.

"If I had it my way… princess, " he breathed against the shell of my ear, his hands pressed to the wall on either side of my head. "If it were up to me, you'd be bent over my knee. Right this very second. " The heat in his voice made my pussy ache. His tone. Our anger. Those words .

"Why?" I breathed out, finding myself unable to resist the spell he was weaving.

"Because that round ass of yours deserves to be spanked," he growled. My eyes fluttered closed as my panties flooded with arousal.

"Should that scare me?" I pushed back, allowing my particular flavor of sass to take precedence over my arousal. Somehow egging him on shifted from simply entertaining to fueling my desire in the space of an instant.

"It should thrill you," he growled. His lips found the space beneath my ear, where my pulse raced just beneath the surface.

One small kiss. That was all.

And I was hooked.

I was pretty sure I hated this man. But the sudden wetness between my legs told a different story. What the fuck was wrong with me?

My head fell back, a moan slipping through my lips like silk as I succumbed to the feel of him, large and domineering before me.

His hips pressed into mine, grinding, and I felt his hardness press against me.

He was just as aroused as I was.

And then — nothing.

"What the…" my words trailed off as my eyes fluttered open to see him storming up the stairs, ignoring me every step of the way. The boom of his door slamming was all the proof I needed to know the moment was over.

"Well, fuck you very much," I murmured under my breath, trying not to think about how, five seconds ago, I very much wanted him to do just that.

Ignoring his rude exit and the uncomfortable feel of my wet and now aching pussy, I pulled my shades back on, heading back outside to sunbathe.

After all… I was fairly certain I'd won that battle.