Chapter One

Trepidation

Ella

Present Day

"Tucker, don't do this." The plea was a strangled gasp from her dry lips. "Please."

"Not Tucker." His jaw stiffened, the blue oceans of his eyes darkening as he stared at her. "You know what to call me, and it would serve you well to start behaving, little girl."

She shivered at the menace of his voice, although the blanket cast over her ensured she was warm enough. He'd called her his ‘little girl' again, the so-called endearment all the more terrifying now that she was tethered to his bed.

"Sir," she conceded, conscious of how fast her heart was beating. "You don't have to do anything you'll regret." Like, hurt me.

She resisted the urge to vocalize the final three words but was sure they were there in her eyes. Certainly, they bounced around her head as she dared to meet his gaze. His expression was like thunder, intense and foreboding as he scanned her face.

"I don't regret anything." There was conviction in his voice, his resolve intensifying her terror.

"Nothing?" Heaving in air, she couldn't believe what she was hearing.

Everyone regretted something, didn't they?

Plus, he'd been the one who agreed to take her as collateral. He'd hoisted her up in the barn and exploited her. How could he not have regrets?

Leaning closer, there was the flicker of something dark in his gaze, something that promised to be even more dangerous than his behavior so far.

"Nothing." He elongated the word, lowering his face to hers.

"Tuc—" Pausing, she corrected herself as she recoiled as far back into the mattress as she could. "Sir. Don't!"

"Don't, what?" Less than a few inches from her, his lips curled. "Don't look at you? Why not, little girl? You're so beautiful."

"I don't want this." Ignoring the praise, she breathed in his scent, her senses torn between her palpable fear and the alluring aroma of sandalwood.

Ella had always loved the smell, yet she couldn't fathom how a guy who lived alone in the woods without so much as hot running water could have access to it. Never mind why, at the most disturbing moment of her life, her senses had been piqued by his or any scent at all.

But then there were many things she didn't understand about Tucker. Primarily how her own useless father had come to owe him so much money and how she was supposed to resolve the debt for him. Let alone how she was supposed to survive the ordeal.

"You don't know what you want." His gaze was knowing. "You didn't seem to mind being so close to me earlier."

Memories of the gentle caress they'd shared in this exact spot flooded her mind, her breath hitching. Tucker was right. She'd welcomed his lips then and had even considered permitting more. But that had been before she'd been ill, before she'd fled through the trees again, and before he'd bound her to his bloody bed.

"This is different." She decided not to argue his point. "I can't even move now." Fresh anxiety coursed through her system as she articulated her predicament, her wrists tugging at her unseen binds once more.

"You're getting what you deserve." Any hint of mischief in his eyes was replaced by something harder. Anxiety knotted in her tummy at the sight. "For tricking me and running."

Tricking you?She searched his expression for any sign he was being disingenuous.

"I didn't trick you," she started, determined to try to reason with her captor.

What other choice did she have?

"You told me you needed water." He inhaled, apparently hurt by her so-called betrayal, but Ella had news for him.

That wasn't betrayal.

Try being abandoned, not once, but twice, by your own father.

Try being offered in exchange for money.

Pain ached in her chest as she considered the fate that had befallen her. That was treachery. The likes of which she couldn't have even imagined until she'd woken up in the woods.

"But all you really wanted to do was escape." He swallowed as though the admission was painful.

Well, of course, I want to escape!She hoped the desperation in her eyes revealed the words she was too afraid to speak. Why would I stay here with you? I don't even know you. I definitely don't want you.

She squeezed her eyes closed, aware the final line at least was untrue. Or perhaps it wasn't? She just didn't know anymore.

Tucker's dark, rugged looks were alluringly attractive, and—in another time and place where he wasn't old enough to be her father, and he wasn't the bastard who was holding her hostage—she might have entertained the idea of bedding him, but…

Oh God.

Dismay resounded as she looked into his gaze.

She had welcomed his kiss earlier, even though he'd done awful things to her. She loathed him, yet she craved him. When his lips had pressed to hers, she hadn't been able to help herself.

It's fear.

Each breath was excruciatingly loud as she sucked in air, his lips still only inches from where they might collide with hers. Like fight or flight, dread had kicked in and immobilized her. She had chosen to remain rooted to the spot and reciprocate.

It was a reflexive response.

"I did need water." Her brows knitted. "Sir." She couldn't believe she was voluntarily calling him ‘sir,' but the last thing she needed was to provoke more rage in the man.

I still need water.

She didn't dare risk admitting it to him, though. There was no chance of persuading him to hydrate her after her sprint into the woods. At this rate, she'd be lucky if he ever trusted her again.

I'll probably die here like this. Panic flared in her chest, making it difficult to take another breath. Bound to his crappy bed.

"Oh, little girl." His tone was soft and taunting, negating the threatening gleam in his gaze.

I was so close. Each breath was agonizing as she heaved it in. So close to getting away, so close to following the river to freedom. So close to freedom.

She should have taken her chances with the bear.

"You used your thirst as a ploy to evade me." He straightened, brow furrowing as he absorbed his conclusion of events. "And I fell for your dupe."

"I just wanted to get away." She'd told him this already. Tucker seemed like a smart man. Surely, he could understand?

"You can't get away." He emphasized the word he considered to be key, his attention flitting between the places his binds held her wrists.

"So, I see." She couldn't see. Her trepidation was too great to risk a glance anywhere but his face.

"I tried to tell you." He shrugged. "To help you understand, but you didn't get it so…" He gestured to the bed. "I've decided to be clearer."

Message received and understood.

"How long will you keep me bound, sir?"

A part of her brain couldn't believe she was asking, still couldn't believe any of this was happening, but the more the hours ticked by, the more she was forced to admit the inevitable.

Tucker was real.

So was his cabin.

So were his ropes.

"Until you're punished." His focus drifted over her, his hand skimming the surface of the blanket covering her body. "I tried to teach you a lesson with the spanking, but it wasn't impactful enough."

She might have laughed at that had the terror surging through her veins not ensured her lips were sealed.

Impactful?

Was he joking? Ella couldn't remember anything being so impactful in her entire life! The man had tipped her over him, jerked down her pants, and struck her backside with his palm. It was easily the most shocking and humbling moment of her life.

Until this one…

"So, now I need to do better." Catching the corner of the blanket between his thumb and forefinger, he peeled it back, little by little, exposing her naked flesh to the air. "I'll punish you until I'm satisfied that the lesson has been properly learned."

***

Tucker

It was as though a part of him had been on autopilot when he'd brought her back to the cabin. He recalled each scintillating second of stripping and binding her, taking his time to enjoy the process. His balls had tightened as he'd breathed in her intoxicating scent, and he swore the air had vanished from the room as he'd tugged her clothes free and held her wrists aloft to secure them.

Since she'd been asleep and finally compliant, he'd chosen his only remaining ties to truss her. Most garments from his old life had been discarded out in the woods, but he'd kept a handful of the silk ties for old-time's sake. Never, though, had he contemplated the idea of winding the silk around such enthralling flesh.

But then, never had he met anyone as captivating as Ella.

Every ounce of his willpower had been necessary to fight his primal urges and not help himself to what he wanted. That was what her father would once have endorsed, after all. Tucker's need ballooned as she lay strewn and unconscious on his bed. He'd yearned to fondle her tempting flesh, yet somehow, he'd found the will to resist.

Had she been awake, Ella wouldn't have believed his decency, and looking at her flushed cheeks and wide-eyes now, he could hardly understand his restraint. He could have done anything he wanted, and she would never have even known. Hell, he could still do whatever he wanted, the point proven wonderfully as he tugged his mother's blanket down to reveal her fabulous breasts.

There was nothing she could do to prevent her exposure, and she wouldn't be able to halt his roaming fingers if he'd chosen to explore her delightful body.

Ella was entirely helpless to his whims.

"Sir." She bit her lower lip, tears springing in her glorious green eyes. "You're scaring me."

"For good reason." He ensured his tone was clipped. Even though he wanted to hold her, to offer comfort and pleasure, he couldn't risk letting it show.

He had to remember that he was the aggressor, and he needed to behave like one. The only way to safeguard Ella's security and keep her in the cabin was to weaponize her fear. The more he intimidated her, the more likely she was to obey, and he didn't want there to be any doubt—Tucker would have her obedience. He'd led men behind enemy lines. One little girl would not get the best of him.

"Are you going to b-beat me?" Her stifled question was scarcely audible.

"Beat you?" he scoffed, unable to prevent the smile that rose to his lips. "No, little girl. I'm going to make you beg."