Sitting on the edge of Jack’s bed, Mia shivered. She looked around the adjoining bathroom and thought the hook on the back door would be a good place for her phone, which was still recording in her purse. Everything was set. She just needed to get what she wanted from Jack before he got what he wanted from her.

She longed for Edward and the safety of his arms. She silently pleaded for him to save her, but she couldn’t be the one to walk away. She needed to do this. It was the only way to get Jack to talk. She relished every silent moment she was alone in that room. When Jack walked in and shattered that, she had become a woman with a mission.

“Finally, alone at last.” He walked toward her, his eyes taking every inch of her figure in. She stood up with an urgency and walked to the other side of the bed.

“Did you ever think this would happen?” She chuckled awkwardly and picked at her thumbnail.

“Yes, I did. I always get my way, Mia. Always.”

“I’m beginning to think that. You’re a powerful man. I think I was wrong about you.”

“Yes, you were.” He snaked his arm around her waist and pulled her into him, his mouth on hers before she could utter another word. His kiss was hard and aggressive, pushing her lips against her teeth.

She wanted to pull away, but she forced herself to respond the way he’d want her to. He leaned back and looked at her, smiling. “This just might work.” He pushed his mouth over hers again, his tongue filling her mouth. A moan came from deep in his throat as he pressed his groin into her. Memories of her first time with him slammed into her mind; the familiar groping, the same selfish aggression. He hasn’t changed. He shoved her onto the bed and watched as she backed herself up.

“I’m not easily surprised,” he said as he watched her struggle with what was about to happen.

“No? What do you mean?”

“You shocked the hell out of me.”

“How did I do that?” She leaned on her elbows, her breasts protruding out toward him. She tried acting sexy so he would watch her more closely, but she was scared as hell.

“Being here, for one. I’m surprised you aren’t angrier at me.”

“Why would I be?”

“Fuck, Mia! I took your company away from you.” Was he seriously getting mad at her? She couldn’t mess this up. “I believe I put a kibosh on your cute little love affair with my brother. I fabricated that call to you, pretending to be him.”

“Wait. What?” She tried thinking back. “What phone call?”

“The night he got all fucked up. I called you on his phone, disguised my voice? Remember? When he told you, I expected some sort of backlash from you.”

“I guess things don’t always go as planned.” She climbed off the bed on the other side, turning away from him. She was angry at him for what he had done, but relieved, too. It wasn’t Edward. She knew there was something strange about the way he’d talked to her that night. It was never him. She took a big breath and forced a smile before turning back toward Jack.

“Now, let’s get you out of those clothes.” He started toward her, but she held her hand up.

She swayed her hips to a silent beat and pulled her shirt down off her shoulder. She turned away from him, moving her ass as she looked back at him, his eyes glued to her body. He looked hungry, and as long as she kept him there, she was okay. She pulled her shirt up over her head and continued to dance for him, dropping her shirt on the carpet.

“You’re sexy as fuck. I should have kept you for myself.”

“Yes, you should have. We could have had a lot of fun. Climb into bed, and I’ll give you a show.”

“I still can’t believe you’re getting so into this. You’re going to be fun to play with.” He stripped his pants off, ripped his shirt off, and slithered onto the bed, pulling the pillow up behind him.

“After I got over the shock and got used to the idea of you taking over my company, I realized I would rather join forces with you than to try and fight you. Now that you own everything, we can move forward from here.”

“You got that right.”

He wasn’t giving it up, and Mia needed to work fast. She only had so many articles of clothing to take off before she had to give more than her clothes up. “I think we should celebrate.” She turned toward him and opened her jeans, squatting down and opening her legs before seductively standing back up.

“I believe that’s what we are doing.”

“No. This is, how did you put it? Sealing the deal?” She forced a smile.

“Goddamn, you’re sexy.”

“Let’s get away from here. Tonight. Take a vacation someplace far away.”

“Let’s not get carried away. As much as I’d like to whisk you away and fuck you in paradise, I still have to finalize the deal.”

“Finalize the deal?” She removed her pants and slid her hands up her body. She needed to keep him locked in. Removing her pants had worked. Was he actually salivating?

“There’s a process. I have the paperwork, safe and sound. After tomorrow morning’s meeting with my lawyer, I will officially be the controller of DT, and then we can talk about you and your company, and what I intend to do with the both of you.”

“I thought you were going to help me with it. Is that still the plan?”

“As long as you work for me, I’ll keep it going. I promise you, the benefits will be well worth it.” He slid his hand over his crotch and squeezed.

“You actually make it sound fun.”

“It could be.”

She sashayed over to his bedside and leaned toward him. She kissed him and stood back up before he could grab hold of her. “Be right back,” she whispered. She danced seductively around the bedroom and disappeared into the bathroom, closing and locking the door behind her.

“What are you doing?” His voice was just on the other side of the door.

She looked around the large room, looking for a way out. “Damn it,” she said quietly. She hadn’t thought this through completely. She went to the window and looked down at the ground several feet below. There was no way she’d make it without shattering an ankle or worse. “I need to prepare myself for you,” she said aloud. “I don’t need another child right now.”

“At least it will have the same father.”

Mia cringed. She frantically looked around and realized there was no way out. “How about a drink? Do you have any alcohol to take the edge off these nerves of mine?”

“What’s your pleasure, baby?”

“Whatever you have. I’m not picky. Maybe some scotch?”

“I’ll be right back. Be ready for me when I get back.”

She listened to him leave the room, his whistling helping her tremendously. She opened the door, grabbing her purse off the back. She ran around the room, picking up her clothes and trying to get them on. She wiggled into her jeans and ran out of the room as she tried to pull her top back on, dropping her purse in the attempt. She cursed under her breath, bent down and picked it back up.

When she got to the top of the stairs, she saw him coming back up with two glasses in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. She ran back the other way, trying a few of the doors to other rooms. Each one she tried to open was locked. What is this? He keeps his front door unlocked but keeps everything else secured? She ran back into his room and pulled her clothes back off, stashing them in the bathroom with her purse. It was her only way out. She eyed the window before going back to his room and crawling up on the bed.

“Hey, gorgeous.” He pursed his lips and held the wine in the air. “A little Mourvèdre to give this party a little kick.”

“Perfect.”

He set the glasses on the bedside table and popped the top off the bottle as he climbed onto the bed next to her. “Did you know Mourvèdre is a full-bodied rustic wine?” He hesitated after each word as the bottle dangled from his hand over her body.

She felt a nervous tension tease her insides. “I did not know that.”

He tipped the bottle, pouring a small steady stream onto her breasts. “It reminds me of red meat, pungent and strong.” He bent down and licked the wine from her skin, his tongue running up over the swell of her breasts. He yanked a side of her bra that covered her nipple and buried his mouth in her.

“I’d love to try it.” She felt panicked.

“Gladly.” He plunged his tongue into her mouth, and the taste of a rich blackberry spread across her tongue. He held the bottle close to her body as he continued to violate her mouth with his.

She got a hold of it, and as soon as he let her breath again, she tipped it back and filled her mouth with it. The strong fruity-peppery taste took over. She swallowed it down hard before a cough took over. She had never drunk anything so vile in all her life.

“Can’t handle the alcohol, Walker?”

“No.” She coughed again, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. “It’s not that. It went down the wrong pipe, that’s all.”

“So, you like it?”

She nodded, her eyes filling with tears. She knew he wasn’t convinced. She reached over, snatched a glass, and filled it up. She offered it to Jack, but he shook his head, amused at the idea she was going to drink it again. She took a deep breath and downed half of it before having to stop. Was it going to come back up? She took another big breath.

He took the glass from her. “I wasn’t done with that.”

“Yes, you are. I want you sober. I want you to remember this.”

She had to think quickly. She watched him set the glass on the stand and climb over her. He moved in for the kill, and she slammed her hand over her mouth. “I think I’m going to be sick.” She pushed away from him and bolted toward the bathroom door, slamming it closed and locking it. She looked at the window and blew out the air in her lungs.

Grabbing her phone from her purse, she smiled when she saw it still recording. She shoved it back in her purse and wiggled back into her clothes. She put the strap of her purse around her neck and went to the window. Moving a laundry hamper from in front of it, she carefully unlocked it and pulled it open.

The ground looked so far down. but she couldn’t dwell on that. She only had a few moments before he realized she wasn’t really sick. She sat on the ledge and dangled her legs over the side, looking around before jumping. A nearby tree grew a couple of feet away. She wondered if she could reach it. She pulled the sill down, pulling the top sill open to use it for leverage. She climbed out and stood on the outside ledge. She leaned out and easily grabbed hold of a large branch of the tree. She swung her leg around it and worked her way down to the ground, trying to move fast around the branches and leaves. Before she reached the ground, she heard clapping directly behind her.

“Bravo.” Jack stood in the grass, looking up at her. “Well played. Award-winning, even.”

She jumped to the ground and pulled her purse close to her side. “What? What are you talking about?”

“Your performance was impeccable.”

“How did you know?”

“Please.” He folded his arms and smiled. “Did you honestly think you were fooling anyone? I let you go on with your little charade just to see how far you’d go. I was pleasantly surprised to see you strip for me. At least I got that.”

“I guess I just couldn’t go through with it. I didn’t want to—”

“What? Hurt my feelings?” He lunged at her and grabbed her arm. “It isn’t my feelings you have to worry about.”

“What are you doing?”

“Taking what is rightfully mine.”

“No! Let me go!” She slammed her hand into his chest, knocking him back a step before he grabbed hold of her with both hands and dragged her around the corner to the front door.

“I already told you, I get what I want, regardless of how I get it.” He shoved his hand into her hair and grabbed a fistful, pulling her close to his face. “I see you like to play games. I’m up for a challenge, bitch! You want to act like a whore? I’m going to treat you like one.” He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, holding her legs tight as he went back inside.

She screamed and grabbed at him, punching at his back, trying to break free until she heard the door close and the lock click. He carried her back toward the stairs, only stopping long enough to open a drawer and pull some nylon cord from it.

Mia’s heart pounded out of her chest. Jack was going to rape her.