3

“You’re coming with me. Now.”

She shivers, her big blue eyes blinking up at me. I’d say in fear, because, well, I’m a scary fucking guy. But with her, it’s different. She looks at me with something that isn’t fear at all. It’s fiery. It’s fierce. It’s got a little attitude to it.

“Wait, excuse me?”

“We don’t have time for the banter, princess,” I mutter. I look over my shoulder, scanning the crowd, hoping for more time. But time is up. I can see Sylvan’s guys stepping down the stairs from the entrance, glancing around the place. And I know Sylvan himself can’t be far behind them.

“We’re going, now.”

Nina’s brow wrinkles, and she gets this sassy look on her face that might just be cute if I didn’t know for a fact that men with guns were about to find us. “Uh, no? I’m here with my frien—”

“I’m counting to three.” My words seem to knock her back a step.

“And what happens at three?” she whispers.

“I throw you over my shoulder and carry you out of here.”

Her jaw drops, that sassy look turning to outright disbelief as she stares at me. “You wouldn’t dare!”

Oh, wouldn’t I.

“One.”

She shakes her head. “Wait, hang—”

“Two.”

“Who are you?”

“Cormac,” I say quietly, my eyes burning into hers. I glance back at the main club dance floor again, and this time, I see the whole crew. Sylvan, along with Tommy DiFresno and his brother Tony—the three who Nina saw that night. My jaw tenses before I turn back to her.

No more games. No more bullshit. We’re getting the fuck out of here now.

“My name is Cormac, and you just ran out of chances.”

Her mouth starts to open, and I can almost hear the backtalk she’s just dying to throw my way, but like I said, I’m fresh out of time for games.

“Three.”

I snatch her up before she can even blink, tossing her small little body up over my broad shoulder like she weighs nothing at all. She shrieks, predictably, kicking and slapping at me in a way that makes me grin. Not because I like that I’m scaring her enough to fight back, but because she is fighting back.

She’s got fire in her, and I like that. Still, she keeps fighting me like this and I will tie her up if it means getting her sweet little ass out of here in one piece.

She’s clearly a little drunk from the drinks her shitty roommate fed her. And she keeps fighting me all the way out the back door to the parking lot, trying to catch me with a heel, or pummeling my back with her fists. But it’s no use fighting a man like me. Not when I’m on a mission. Not when she’s my mission.

She squirms against me again, and my arm tightens around her waist. She wriggles again, and this time, her short little skirt pulls up high across the backs of her thighs, all the way up over the soft curve of that tight little ass of hers. My eyes catch a glimpse of tiny pink lace, pulled right against the crease of her ass, and I fucking growl. My cock throbs instantly, heat and raw want blazing though me. My balls swell with cum, and it takes everything in my power not to slam her against the side of the SUV, rip those panties off, and plunge every inch of my aching cock deep inside her sweet untouched heaven right then and there.

Somehow, I restrain myself.

I get her in the car. I give her the basic gist of what’s going on. And finally, she stops trying to fight me. Finally, she takes a damn breath. I can feel my pulse roaring as I close her door and then march around to the driver’s side and climb in. The engine roars to life, and I glance once more at the back door as we pull out. No sign of Sylvan or Tommy or Tony, or their guys. But that doesn’t mean I’ve lost them, and I know it.

Nina’s hands twist in her lap as we roar away, her breath coming fast. I watch the swell of her breasts heave against her thin lacy top. I watch that tiny skirt ride up so high on her creamy, tempting thighs. I feel my cock bulging against the front of my jeans, and I feel my heart skip a beat as I take in the absolute angel sitting next to me in that Escalade.

I roar off into the night, and I know one thing: it’s my duty to protect her. But it’s my mission to claim her.

Chapter Three

Nina

The drive has mostly been in silence so far. No music on the radio. No banter. No “So, you kidnap people. How’d you get into that?” style conversations. Nothing. We’ve left the city, and what feels like all of civilization behind as we drive heavily forested roads, moving deeper and deeper into the wilderness. I can still feel the booze pulsing through my veins.

Finally, he pulls off the main road onto a dirt one, driving down that for another mile maybe until suddenly, we come to a stop.

“Where are we?”

My voice feels far away. I’d say it’s the fear, but then, I’m far less scared than I know I should be. After all, a big, muscled, growly stranger has just thrown me over his shoulder, stolen me away from my roommate and her friends, and driven me out into the middle of nowhere. By all counts, I should be terrified. Except, for some reason, I’m not. Instead, it almost feels like I’m anxious, curious even. Like there’s something new and exciting, and yes, even a little scary waiting for me, but that it’s something I’m dying to discover.

“We’re where you’re going to stay.”

He turns the car off, and I glance out through the windshield. The cabin is small, but nice looking, and behind it, I can see the moon reflecting off the smooth-as-glass water of the lake.

“Where’s here?”

“Blackthorn Mountain. Or, close enough to it.”

“I’m not sure I’ve ever heard of it.”

He turns to me, his eyes studying my face, and that heated look of his warming me all sorts of ways it shouldn’t be.

“Good,” he growls. He opens his door and steps out into the night, coming around to open my door. A kidnapper with chivalry, apparently. He leads me to the cabin, unlocking the door and ushering me inside as he flicks on a few soft lights. The place is cozy, that’s for sure. Although, something tells me it’d be cozier if I hadn’t just been taken here.

“Why…” I bite my lip and look at my feet as he shuts and locks the door behind me.

“Speak.”

The alcohol from earlier is still in me, and so is the courage to keep talking that it brings with it. “Why did you kidnap me?”

I know he’s told me that he’s protecting me, and that he isn’t going to kill me. But then, I’m still alone in a cabin in the woods in the middle of nowhere with a big, muscled, tattooed, older stranger.

“I didn’t kidnap you.”

“Yes, you did.”

His eyes narrow, his jaw clenching tight. “You want to pretend that we both don’t know what you saw the other night in that alley?”

I can feel the color draining from my face as the shiver teases up my spine. Cormac just shakes his head though.

“I already told you, I’m not here for that. I’m here to make sure those pieces of shit don’t hurt you.”

“Who are you?”

“Someone with a job to do.”

“And your job involves throwing girls half your age over your shoulder and hauling them away like some sort of caveman?”

A thin smile teases his lips. “When they act like little brats it does.”

I start to open my mouth to fling something back at him, but I shut it instead.

“Smart,” Cormac mutters.

“So, what, are you a cop or something?”

I’m pretty sure of the answer before he even turns back.

“No, I’m not.”

“Shocker,” I mutter.

“I work with the FBI.”

My brows shoot up. “Really?”

Cormac nods, turning to flick on some more lights and throw some kindling and logs into the fireplace across the big main room. My eyes narrow.

“Can I see your badge?”

He snorts, turning to glance back at me for a long second. His eyes move over me and make me tingle in places I shouldn’t, given the circumstances.

“No.”

“I think you have to show me your badge. It’s a rule.”

He stands from the fireplace. “No, it’s not. Now, the rules are, you stay put. You keep that ass in this cabin unless I—”

“Until I see a badge, I’m not doing a thing you say.”

He stiffens, and I can feel my core tighten as I watch the muscles in his arms tense and ripple. Slowly, he turns, and when that fierce, somewhat scary, and also totally hot gaze falls on me, I shiver.

“Are you still drunk?”

I shrug, stiffening my jaw. “So?”

Cormac’s throaty growl rumbles across the room, making my heart skip.

“If you’re going to act like a spoiled little brat, I’m going to treat you accordingly.”

I scowl at him, but he just turns and stoops again, this time pulling a zippo lighter from his pocket and sparking it against the newspaper and kindling he’s stuffed into the fireplace. My eyes dart around the small cabin, across the living area where he’s crouched in front of the fireplace, across two half-open doors—one that I can see a bed through and the other a bathroom—and across the little kitchen area built into one corner. My eyes land on the big old-fashioned-looking teakettle sitting on the stovetop, and suddenly, the liquid courage flowing through my veins roars to life.

I move before I can even think it through, lunging for the big iron teakettle, whirling and rushing at his back. But Cormac turns and springs to his feet faster than I’d ever in a million years have imagined, like he’s some sort of machine, or jungle cat. He growls, his hand catching the kettle on the down stroke and easily wrenching it from my hand and tossing it away. I gasp as he grabs me, those big hands of his on me once again as he whirls us, taking my breath away and slamming me into the wall. I gasp as his big, muscled body presses into me, one hand pinning both my arms above my head, the other firmly on my hip.

His hands tighten, and again, I know I should be terrified, but I’m not. No, instead, I’m something else entirely; something that’s so wrong and so mortifyingly bad that I can feel my whole face bloom with the heat of it. Because when Cormac pins me to the wall and growls into my ear as his hands tighten on my body, I’m not scared…