Chapter Eight

Jeopardy

Ella

Ella clasped her fingers together, aware of her speeding heart rate as she perched on the edge of his bed. The rope that had held her right wrist in place dangled by the side of her knee, and as she glanced to either end of the bedstead, she could see the binds that had trussed her beforehand.

Strange.Her brow creased. They all seem to be blue. They were nothing like the ropes that had tied her since she'd woken in the sleeping bag.

Edging along the bed, she stared at the truss hanging there. Reaching for it, her fingers brushed over the lustrous fabric, and her heart skipped a beat as she realized what the bind was.

A tie!

Quickly, she scanned all four posts, confirming that each fetter was indeed the same. Why would a guy who lived out in the woods and didn't even have access to a toilet own four expensive-looking ties? By the feel of them, they were silk—not something a man who was struggling to pay for hot running water would consider wearing or even keeping.

Tucker was such an enigma. So little about him and his surroundings made sense to her.

"Maybe I should ask him." She ran the silk through her fingers, somehow soothed by the fabric. "Maybe I should ask him why?"

The door burst open at that moment, her head snapping around to find his large, inquiring eyes.

"You said you wouldn't move." He seemed out of breath, his lips curling despite his accusing tone.

"You said to stay on the bed." She motioned to the covers beside her, ignoring the rush of adrenaline that flooded her system. If he thought she'd disobeyed, there could be a whole new world of pain awaiting her, and frankly, her ass and pussy were still sore from the last round of so-called punishment he'd delivered. "And I have."

"Right." He seemed to be suppressing a smile as he kicked the door closed behind him and twiddled the long metal key between his fingers. "I did say that, didn't I?"

"Yes, sir." She gripped the silk harder, watching as he slid the key into place and locked the door behind him. "I just wanted to look at this." She lifted the tie as far as the knot securing it to the bed would permit her to show him.

"My tie?" His gaze speared her, somehow managing to elevate the intensity of her pulse.

"Yes." Her voice sounded hoarse as he approached. "I just wondered why you'd have such lovely ties when you live like this." Inwardly, she flinched at her wording, hoping he wouldn't take offense.

"They belonged to another time." Thankfully, he didn't seem perturbed by her most recent description of his home or lifestyle. "I used to wear them then."

"You did?" She looked from the tie to his face, trying to imagine how he might look dressed in the sort of formal attire that would demand a luxurious tie of the sort she was grasping.

"I did." He slipped his thumbs into the pockets of his pants. "Is that so hard to believe, little girl?"

"Maybe." She sighed at the name he'd invented for her, no longer able to decide whether she loved or loathed it. "It's just very different from how you dress now."

"I'm a different man." His gaze traveled to the window, as though he was lost in some distant memory.

"Was that man the one who lent Alexander the cash?" She scarcely believed she'd had the nerve to ask the question, but in the end, she was glad that she had. She wanted to understand the person who held her captive. Just like she longed to know why her father had thrown her under the bus.

"It was." His soft tone suggested little anger at her inquiry, but she tensed regardless, especially when his hand neared her face. "That's very astute of you, Ella."

I'm smarter than you think.

She held the words back but wondered if her gaze said them after all. His rising brow suggested that it might have.

"Will you tell me about him, sir?" Her breathing sped up as his fingers stroked her jaw. "I'd like to understand."

"About me?" He seemed surprised at her interest.

"About who you were then." She shrugged. "I didn't know my father for a long time. Maybe you can shed some light on the man he is and why I'm really here."

"Ella." His hand slid to her nape, his fingers splicing her hair as he continued. "I don't know what to tell you. Bennett was never a good man. Neither of us were."

"I suspected that much." She managed a smile as his digits stiffened, her lips parting as his grasp lit up her scalp.

The way his fingers tightened in her tresses was distracting, to say the least. She didn't know if it was her nerves or just something about Tucker, but as he urged her head backward, she chose not to resist. She wanted to know what would happen if she just let him have control again. The last time she'd ceded, he'd taken her higher than she could remember any guy taking her.

"What more do you want to know?" His voice sounded huskier, as if he, too, was enjoying their growing sensual connection.

"I don't know." Her gaze flitted to his as he held her in place. Ella had no idea why being manhandled that way was so alluring, but his gentle dominance was definitely doing something for her. Her clit throbbed beneath the blanket, her nipples pebbling as she envisioned what he might make her do next.

I should refuse him.The logic played out in her head as he guided her head back to expose her neck to him. Should fight him off.

But the truth was, as her breaths morphed into pants, she didn't want him to go.

"What were you like back then, sir?"

Bending over her, his lips descended. Time was suspended as their mouths collided, his lips punishing hers before trailing kisses along her jaw en route to her throat. She barely recognized the guttural groans as they escaped her mouth. All she could feel was the power of his kisses and the soft irritation of his stubble against her skin.

"I was an asshole." His words were breathy as he pressed the caresses against her sensitive skin. She moaned at the contact, offering him more of her neck. "I didn't care about anyone or anything." His head rose, his blue gaze meeting her eyes. "You wouldn't have liked me then."

What makes you think I like you now?

The question bounced around her mind as his hand guided her toward him. Turning her head, his attention focused on the other side of her face, peppering her flesh with caresses before he swooped for her neck.

"Why were you so bad?" She forced the words out, determined to discover something new about him amid the swirling passion.

"I fucked people over." His voice was a growl against her neck, and her senses reacted to the sound, her heart racing even faster than before. "I was ruthless and didn't give a shit who I hurt."

She might have dwelled longer on how that reminded her of the man who'd agreed to hold her as his prisoner had the intensity of his kisses not derailed the thought.

"Did you…" She paused, swallowing back her dread. "Kill anyone?"

Even though she knew little about Alexander, she'd always had concerns about where his money had come from. Deep down, she wouldn't have been surprised to find out he was responsible for something as despicable as murder.

"Not then." He nipped her neck, grazing his teeth over her flesh.

"Not then?" She tried to wriggle from his grip, his answer doing nothing to assuage the ballooning sense of panic rising inside her.

"Settle down, little girl." His snarl seemed at odds with the gentle kisses he bestowed.

"But Tucker…"

What was happening to her? How had this man who'd just admitted to possibly killing people taken such control of her body and mind? She shouldn't want this, yet there she was, caught in his web and on the verge of acquiescing to much more than only his fingers.

"Not, Tucker." His breath was warm as he withdrew from her an inch. "You know that."

"Sir."

There was no embarrassment or awkwardness in saying the word now. All she could think about was scratching the itch he was building inside of her. Ella had never known anything like this. The need at her core tightened the way his fingers had in her hair, forcing the rest of her body to respond to his will.

"What do you need, little girl?" His gaze scanned her face, though his blue eyes were knowing, as if he already knew precisely what she needed.

"You."

She couldn't believe what she was asking for or the way her hand rose to his neck and gripped his skin. Surely, she didn't truly crave his lips or the way she already knew his fingers felt inside her? She knew better than that, didn't she?

"What do you want me to do?" His eyebrow rose as he gently pushed her down onto the bed.

She ceded to his desire, breathless as his hand withdrew from her hair and tugged the blanket down to reveal her breasts.

"I don't know, sir." Her mind was blank as she watched his hungry gaze devour her.

There was no point in denying how she felt any longer. She did yearn for him. She wanted him on her and in her, to transport her to somewhere better than his shitty cabin and away from the reality of her captivity.

"You've had men before me?" His palms pressed into the covers on either side of her as his face lowered in her direction. "I don't want to hurt you."

Hurt me?

Hadn't he been the one who'd dangled her from the rafters of his neighboring barn and left her there for hours? Yet, she couldn't think to counter him as his hair grazed over her skin.

Apparently, Tucker had changed his mind about her. He'd thought it acceptable to pain her then but was concerned about her wellbeing now.

"I'm not a virgin, sir." She almost laughed at the idea. Ella hadn't been one of those for a very long time.

"So, you do know what you want?" His lips twitched before they skimmed her collarbone. "Know what you like?"

"I've never…" She nibbled her bottom lip, unsure how to proceed but certain she might implode if her clit didn't find some satisfaction soon.

"Never what?" His kisses moved to the top of her breasts, trailing hot caresses over her goosing flesh.

"Been with anyone like you before." She steered clear of mentioning his age, but it was his experience to which she referred. The guys she'd been with before were mere boys compared to Tucker.

"Really?" His chuckle was muffled against her skin, but he didn't seem offended as his mouth closed over her nipple.

She mewled as he suckled there, her back arching at the unrestrained spike of pleasure. Yes! Her lips stretched as his mouth lengthened her teat, his hand rising to tweak and pinch her other nipple.

"You're beautiful, Ella." He rose over her like a dark god, his fingers working quickly on the buttons of his shirt before he shrugged off the material. His body was broad and muscular, reminding her of a man much younger in years. "But you should know I don't normally like to be gentle."

"Okay." She didn't know what else to say as she absorbed the sight of him. His strapping form was everything she'd hoped she'd find beneath his shirt.

"Okay?" His hands fell to his zipper, his gaze boring into her as he unfastened the top of his pants. "You're all right with that?"

"I think I am." Christ, was she really negotiating with the man who'd accepted her as collateral for her father's debt? "I mean, I like it rough sometimes."

"Oh, I bet you do." Leaving his pants around his hips, he fell to his knees between her legs and yanked the remaining cover from her. "Come here."

Discarding the blanket, he snaked his arms under her thighs and tugged her closer to the edge of the bed. She gasped as she went, her feet resting on his shoulders as his breath tickled her sensitive skin.

"I'm going to eat you up, little girl." His gaze rose to her face before settling on the place he wanted to worship between her legs.

"Yes, please, sir."

She closed her eyes, contemplating how good his mouth would feel on her throbbing clit. Knowing how good his caresses were at her neck, she couldn't wait to find out.

"You should be careful what you wish for, little girl." He pressed her knees down to the covers. "I'm going to eat you until you come, then when you're begging for my dick, I'm going to fuck you like a whore."

Fuck.

She clenched at the intoxicating idea. Nothing about his final sentence should be appealing, yet everything about it was.

"I'll take what I'm given, sir." She'd never been more certain of anything as her gaze fluttered open, and she locked gazes with the man on his knees in front of her.

He was her captor. The man who refused to let her leave, yet he offered her an abundance of hedonism.

"Yes, you will." Devils danced in his eyes as he inched closer to where her pussy waited. "Your father should never have given you to me."