Even without opening her eyes, Harley could feel King’s presence. Her skin tingled, as if the barely leashed sexual heat of his gaze was setting off tiny bursts of heat wherever it went. The sensations had her body stretching and sliding languorously against soft, cool sheets. Her bed had never felt so sumptuous before, so utterly comfortable.

Harley frowned as she struggled to get her bearings. Her eyelids felt heavy and unwieldy as she struggled to lift them. As she peered through blurry slits, what she could make out between her thick lashes didn’t make sense.

King was sitting in a chair by the bed, but the walls weren’t the right color and she didn’t know where he’d gotten the chair. It wasn’t one of hers. As she had suspected, his hot gaze was roaming lazily over her body. Their eyes met and his expression softened, becoming almost indulgent.

Deciding that it would be best to figure out her strange dream later, Harley drifted off to sleep again.

Best. Dream. Ever.

“Mmm…” Harley purred as she arched her back and rolled her hips toward the source of pleasure that was fluttering on and around her clit. The swollen nub came alive beneath a sudden tug of suction that was accompanied by more fluttering. Her ragged breathing was beginning to burn her lungs when a soft, velvety warmth began to slide up and down her slit. Her pussy lips were being licked and nibbled before the velvety warmth pressed forward and spread them apart.

“Oh…mmm…fuck yeah,” she sighed as the soft warmth stroked and lingered along the base of her opening and then slid inside. The walls of her pussy were being licked and adored from the inside out. What kind of dream was this?!

A low growl rumbled from between her legs. The humming vibration wrapped itself around her flesh and set off a series of small shivers along her inner thighs. The warm, silky contact shifted from inside her core back up to her clit. The rhythmic contact was relentless, an endless series of firm flicks that teased the tip of her clit until her core burst into flames and an agonized groan poured from her lips.

As the waves of pleasure began to recede, a muffled voice murmured, “Mmm-mm. Welcome home, darlin’.”

“What the hell?” Harley shrieked as her eyes flew open and she looked down to find an amused King winking at her from between her legs, his lips glistening with evidence of her release. She tried to scramble away from him but discovered she couldn’t move. She tugged futilely at her arms but they were stretched tight above her head. Her wrists were secured with a silk scarf that tightened a little each time she pulled against it. Much like the man who was currently nibbling at her thighs and lapping at her pussy like a cat, there was a deceptively brutal side to the soft silk.

“If this is your idea of a date,” she rasped breathlessly, “I have to say it’s a first for me.”

“Oh, we are way beyond dating. Didn’t you hear me? Or maybe you couldn’t hear me over the screaming orgasm, hmm? This is your official ‘welcome home’. This is your home now. You’re here to stay.”

Harley’s eyes widened almost comically as she looked around. Until now, she hadn’t noticed that she wasn’t even in her own home. She was at King’s house, at the wildlife refuge. But she knew perfectly well that she had gone to sleep in her own bed, reading a book and drinking…her…tea. “You son of a bitch,” she hissed as she yanked on the scarf again. “What have you done?” She swallowed to try to gather moisture in her dry mouth.

“Aw, hell, you’re thirsty. I’m sorry, here.” He raised himself off the bed and picked up a water bottle. He was wearing nothing but a pair of jeans with the top button undone. Even his feet were bare. His tan, fit body distracted her and made it nearly impossible to think clearly. He broke the seal on the bottle before holding it to her lips.

She hesitated briefly before tilting her chin to accept the contents of the bottle. It couldn’t be laced with anything; the seal was unbroken. She was already thinking like a captive—his captive. Had he done this before? She resisted the urge to ask.

“Take it easy. Don’t gulp.” He pulled the bottle away from her lips and placed it back on the nightstand. He crawled back onto the bed and knelt between her legs. Sliding a fingertip along her drenched slit, he circled her clit and smiled smugly when she gasped with pleasure. He pulled the finger away and slid it inside his mouth. His eyes closed as he hummed with pleasure at the taste of her.

Placing a hand on each of her thighs, he leaned back and took a good look as he slid his thumbs back and forth over her skin. “That is one pretty pussy, baby. Fuck, and it tastes good, too. Sweet.” His gaze lingered there until he shook his head as if to clear his thoughts and asked, “You hungry?” His gaze was clear and steady as he leaned over her and used his thumb to gently wipe a drop of water from her bottom lip.

“Um, I don’t know.” Her brain was so fried, she didn’t know much of anything in that moment, other than she was tied to King’s bed and she had no idea how he had managed it.

She resisted the urge to panic when he turned and left the room. A surge of uncertainty coursed through her and she pushed away the fickle thought of him not returning and her lying there for hours, helpless and unable to free herself.

She looked around at her surroundings. She wasn’t in some kind of dungeon or shed; she was in his bedroom. That had to be a good sign, right? Her thoughts were muddled and hazy. She tried to move her legs, to no avail. Somehow it had escaped her notice that he had tied them down too. Silken restraints around each ankle and knee were fastened to unseen corner pieces of the bedframe. The whole time he had been eating her out and then conversing with her, she had been spread wide open like a frog ready for dissection.

“Now, now. Trying to run away so soon?” he said playfully from the doorway, but there was a hint of steel in his words. There was no doubt in either of their minds that she was at his mercy until he deemed otherwise.

“I need to pee.” It was the first thing she could think to say to try to gain the advantage and free herself. He said nothing as he set the tray of food down and reached over with ease, releasing her restraints with a few flicks of his wrist. She sat up and her head swam. She somehow resisted the urge to reach out and grab him for support as a wave of dizziness overwhelmed her senses. He had done quite enough; no way was she going to lean on him for support after he sneaked her out of her own home and tied her to his bed for his own pleasure.

Okay, there had been more than a little pleasure in it for her too, but that was beside the point.

He snaked an arm around her waist and ‘escorted’ her to the bathroom, which was basically King dragging her flailing form across the floor against her will. As they crossed the threshold into the bathroom, she went limp in his arms. What did it matter? He was going to do whatever he wanted anyway, and her defiance would accomplish nothing.

When he had her securely upright, he lowered her gently onto the toilet and took a couple of steps back. And stood there.

“You’re kidding me, right? Sorry, no can do. I can’t pee with you in here.”

He made no effort to leave, just turned on the water in the sink and smiled benignly, turning his back only when it worked. This time when he tried to support her as she walked, she jerked away from him. But he was having none of it; he pulled her into his side and growled in her ear, “Don’t fight me, Harley. You’ll never win.”

This time the fear was real, not just a nagging premonition but the certain knowledge that he would do whatever was necessary to keep her under his control. This wasn’t really about the Ramirez brothers or her keeping King’s secrets; it was about something far deeper. This was about his need to hunt.

Why hadn’t she figured this out before? It was so obvious: King was no different than the exotic animals he offered refuge to. His life’s calling to give them solace in a place that was nearly identical to their natural habitat was an extension of his own need to soothe the caged beast within himself.

The beast he kept hidden from the outside world had revealed itself to her. He wanted her so he took her, and he intended to keep her. There would be no hiding from him. He would track her, just like a wild animal tracked its prey.

She couldn’t help but wonder if she should have listened to Stacy. Her friend had tried to warn her about the darkness that lurked within King. She had ignored the warning, and in doing so had experienced the deepest, most profound sexual pleasure of her life. As Stacy’s warning echoed in Harley’s mind, one fact became clear: somehow, they had both underestimated him.