My shoulders are so sore. I roll onto my back against the cold, hard concrete and wince. After taking a moment to adjust to the discomfort, I push off the floor and into a sitting position. My eyes open and try to adapt to the darkness. I can barely see anything. My heart pounds in my chest, beating faster than it ever has before. I have no idea where I am or how I got here, but this shit isn’t good. A cold sweat pricks my skin as I think back to last night. I remember lying down in my bed. I was tired, and then I fell asleep.

I have no clue how I’ve ended up here, in the middle of what looks like a small basement cellar. It’s nearly pitch black. The only light is streaming through three small windows high up on the ceiling of the far wall. Each window is only about the size of a cinder block, and all three are blocked by something, but a small bit of light is still shining through. Terror runs through me and seems to freeze my blood.

I open my mouth to scream, but I’m too scared. They’ll hear me.

I’ve been taken. They found me, and they took me. I know exactly who it is. The Cassanos. Fuck! I never want to go back to him, to Lorenzo. I won’t let him touch me ever again.

Tears threaten to reveal themselves. But it’s useless to cry. Some small part of me always knew it would come to this. You can’t escape your death. I didn’t really think I’d ever be able to run. I swallow the lump growing in my throat. My eyes fall to the ground. I have no idea why they would keep me alive, since I’m no use to them. I’m certain they’ll kill me soon. Or worse.

There are only two options I can think of. One, they left me alive to torture me because I went to the cops. Two, they left me alive to torture me for fun. Knowing Lorenzo, it’s number two.

I close my eyes, letting the realization settle in. My body shakes as tremors of fear run through my limbs, but I try to soothe them. I got out before. I’ll do it again. I may be a meek little mouse, as that fucker used to call me, but I fight when I have to. And right now, I have to.

My eyes slowly open and adjust to the light.

The air is cold and damp, but my throw is in a pile on the floor next to me. I quickly grab it and wrap it around me as though it can protect me. Fear cripples me as I hear the sound of a chair moving across the floor. My heart stills and a chill prickles my skin. I’m not alone.

As I search the dark, vacant room, I see him. The look of a hunter stares back at me. I don’t recognize him. His broad chest and chiseled muscles flex as he leans forward. His eyes are a brilliant light blue and they pierce through me. His cheekbones are sharp and only appear more contoured with the shadows from the dim light. If he had any other expression on his face, I’d think he was the most gorgeous man I’ve ever met.

As if reading my mind, he smirks at me. The fucking bastard thinks this is funny. My heart tries to climb up my throat as he sits back in his seat and his hand settles on the raging erection in his jeans.

Fuck!

My eyes dart back up to his. That shit’s not happening. I’ll claw his fucking eyes out. I look for a door and then back to him. I don’t see one, but I don’t care if I kill him and I’m locked in here and starve to death. I won’t let that happen.

We stare at each other in silence. I want to ask him what he wants from me, but I already know. I want to plead for him to let me leave, but I’ve learned that doesn’t work. Instead I wait for his move. He cocks his head after a moment and slowly stands.

As he moves toward me, I resist the urge to scoot away. I can’t do that. I can’t back myself into a corner.

He crouches in front of me and leans in closer. His eyes hold a hint of danger, but also a spark of desire. I’m just not sure what he wants to do with me exactly, besides the obvious. “I’m supposed to kill you,” he says. His deep baritone voice is low and threatening. He tilts his head as I slide slightly backward on my ass out of natural instinct. I take control of my body and tilt my chest away from him, giving myself leverage to kick this motherfucker in the balls if he gets any closer.

His full lips pull into an asymmetric grin. “You can’t get away from me just yet.” I hate how he’s taunting me, like he expected this.

My breathing is ragged, and my heart is beating so fast I swear my chest won’t be able to contain it. It feels as though my heart's trying to leap out of my throat. I barely get the words out, but I manage to say, “I don’t want to die.”

His grin widens into a perfect smile. This man’s too handsome to be a predator. There’s a darkness about him, but he could fool anyone with just a small amount of charm.

“I don’t want you to die either, kitten.” His pet name sends a bolt of desire to my clit. Shame washes through me. I shouldn’t like it. This is wrong. He stands up and towers above me. I tilt my head to keep my eyes on him. “You have a choice,” he says.

I wait for him to continue as I stay huddled in a ball beneath him. My blood rushes loudly in my ears and I try to calm my racing heart. He doesn’t want me to die. That should relax me; it should make me feel even the faintest bit better. But it doesn’t.

“You can die.” He speaks to the far wall, not looking at me. I find my eyes searching for a door, looking for a way out. To my right, I finally spot a steel door, with a keypad to its left. “Or,” he continues, and I feel his gaze on me as my eyes fly to meet his and my heart thuds painfully in my chest. “You can agree to be mine.”

I can’t help that the way he says it makes my core heat. A wetness pools between my thighs and I feel ashamed. This isn’t a fantasy. This is real life. I feel the blood drain from my face as I become lightheaded. The only reason I’m not dead is because he wants to keep me. But I doubt his intentions are anything but kinky and sick.

I don’t want this. Tears leak from the corners of my eyes and I shake my head. “No.” My voice is hoarse and barely audible.

This isn’t real. This isn’t happening. I wait for him to grab me. As soon as he does, I’ll strike. But he merely searches my face for something and stands far enough away that I can’t do any real damage.

He cocks a brow and his voice softens as he says, “You haven’t heard my terms. How sure are you that you don’t want to be my pet?”

Terms?

Again the offer makes my pussy clench and my cheeks redden with a violent blush. “No,” I blurt out without thinking.

His chest rumbles with a deep chuckle. “Some part of you wants me. There’s hope for us after all.” He smiles down at me and turns to walk away. My limbs refuse to move and attack him. Instead I stay frozen on the ground. I watch his corded muscles ripple as he walks to the door and enters in a code.

“Where are you going?” I ask before thinking. Apparently the fear of being left alone in this room to rot is greater than my fear of him. I don’t want to die here, left to starve because he changed his mind. I may have said no, but I sure as fuck don’t want to die here.

He turns and gives me the same sexy smirk. “My kitten needs to eat.”

Tension coils in my body. I can’t let him leave. I need to get more information. I don’t like not knowing anything about this situation and not having any other options.

“Wait. What--” I swallow thickly before continuing. “What are your terms?”

He smirks at me as he opens the door and says, “The first is that you’ll listen to me. I’ll be back soon.”

My chest rises and falls with anxiety and fear as I stare back at him in silence. I pull the throw tighter around my shoulders and watch as he walks through the door and leaves me in the dark room. I'm all alone and barely able to breathe. After a short moment, lights in the ceiling slowly come to life, illuminating the room dimly and gradually getting brighter. I look around my surroundings and see a small toilet in the corner and the metal chair my captor was sitting in, but nothing else. Tears prick my eyes and my blood runs cold. I can’t stay here like a prisoner.

I stare at the door waiting for him to come back, letting everything sink in.

I’ve been taken.

And he wants to keep me.

The only thing I’m certain of is that I need to find a way out of here. Run as fast as I can, and never look back. But I’ll have to rely on him to get out of this fucking cell first.