Ransomed MC Princess #1 (7 page)

“Please don’t,” I stammer. “I don’t want to die like this.”

He leans forward, gaze centering on my lips like he wants to kiss me senseless…or werewolf style chomp off my face.

I stiffen. Do I really want to figure out which one it is? I didn’t know which scenario was scarier. I mean, getting your face bitten off would be painful as fuck. But…oh man…getting kissed by Damien? And liking it? Not that I would like it—but just in case I
did
like it—oh God, I’d never be able to live it down!

His other hand lets go of my wrists. Suddenly, both hands are on my hips, pushing me up into the wall and lifting me so that my vajazzled area is right next to his…

I moan. God, why does his dick have to be so gigantic and why do gigantic dicks have to have this effect on me? I don’t want to be like all those other women, begging and opening themselves for him completely.

Or maybe, the reason why I’m his prey is because I want to be hunted
.

Candy’s awful words taunt me.

No. It can’t be true. I won’t allow it to be true!

His breath fans over my cheeks, smoke, oil and leather…and all man. And my response is all woman. His hands squeeze my ass, tilting my pelvis up against the base of his long shaft. His zipper pushes up against my clit. “Dyin’ like this, for this,” he rasps, “I think it would be worth it.”

Me too!
my body screams, but my pride won’t let me succumb.

I can do something now my hands are free. Maybe not much, but something. My hand knocks his majestic cock through his jeans as I reach into his pockets. He growls, so distracted he doesn’t even notice that I’ve taken the keys to his bike in my fist.

He leans forward so his forehead hits the side of the barn right next to my head. “Fuck, this is a bad idea Princess.”

Oh, he has no idea how right he is.

I wince, squirming a little to the left so my legs have more room to move. “Sorry Damien.”

He pulls back. Surprise flickers in his eyes as guilt swirls in my stomach. Still, it doesn’t stop me from bringing my knee right up into his crotch.

Damien throws back his head and howls. For a second, his grip on me loosens, but a second is all I need.

I hit the ground and take off for the pasture where the bikes are parked, running like a demon from hell is chasing after me.

Which is totally what is actually happening.

“ANNIE!!!!”

Oh shit! His voice sounds so close. I glance over my shoulder to see his enraged eyes glinting in the moonlight.

“STOP! DON’T DO THIS!”

He starts rushing forward, bent over and face scrunched in pain but still moving with divine purpose. He was gaining on me.

Shit! I dig deep, finding a strength I never knew I had. My legs burn. My lungs are made of fire. But I have a head start and I know exactly where his bike is. Luckily it’s close. I kick the kickstand and straddle it, his leather jacket the only thing keeping me from the cold, and start the engine.

Damien rushes, a few feet from me. For one second our eyes meet, and I don’t see the rage I’m expecting on his face, but instead fear.

“Sorry!” I yell, though he probably can’t hear me. The bike shoots forward. The wheels slide a bit in the mud. I veer sharply to the left. He tries to catch me but I’m just out of reach and in a few seconds I’m going up the road. I can’t hear him calling my name behind me, but I know he is. I glance over my shoulder and see him, chasing after me even though he’s not going to win, mouth open, face desperate.

Then I turn back around and face the road. Gunning it, I steel my heart against everything that could have been.

They’re coming for me.

My mind races with fears as I tear through the mountainous landscape. Damien had wanted to take me back to the compound. He’d even said he wanted to lock me in in room forever. And he’d be in that room with me, ready to punish me in horrifically creative ways.

A shiver rushes through me. I don’t want to think of it. I don’t want to remember it. But I can’t help it. The feeling of his body pushing up against mine, drawing out feelings I’d wanted to keep hidden…All of it so dark and beautiful and delicious and everything I’d ever wanted but was too afraid to take.

So instead of giving in, I’d kicked him in the balls.

Yeah, that sounds like me.

I can’t go back to the compound. My dad would be coming home sometime tonight or tomorrow morning, and how the hell was I supposed to face him after what I’d just done? Why did Candy think we could keep this little escapade hidden? There were so many people there tonight. Someone other than Damien and his brothers must’ve recognized me. One of them would slip up, my dad would find out, and…Well, let’s just say that I wouldn’t find it too strange if Old Mills’ Barn and everyone in it was suddenly blown off the map.

So I wasn’t going back to the compound. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but I didn’t want to face anyone, so I was going home. My
real
home. And once I got there, I was going to lock myself in my
own
room, thank you very much. The one with pink pillowcases and pink walls and a stupid picture of me and Damien and that big-ass fish I’d caught. I wouldn’t even mind staying in there forever, as long as I was alone.

The best part of this plan was that Damien probably wouldn’t think to look for me there at first.

You see, I didn’t spend much time at my “real” house. When I was thirteen I’d pretty much moved into the club. It had pissed me off that Damien was allowed to spend so much time there, and at first I’d even been thrilled that my room was next to his room so I could rub me being there in his face.

My glee had, ahem, been short-lived. Still, I wasn’t one to quit. I loved the club, so I stayed. Cheyenne hadn’t been thrilled about this, but she’d accepted it. Me being there meant she could spend more time there, too, which
also
meant she could spend more time with my father. Bottom line: they’d look for me at the club, not at home, which was doubly great because my house was on the east side of the mountain and the clubhouse was on the west side. Since the barn was right smack dab in the middle between these two points, if they didn’t split up they’d probably all run off in the wrong direction and miss me entirely.

Of course, I’m
also
driving closer to where my dad and the other MC Presidents and their inner circles were meeting, but I’ll pass them soon so as long as they weren’t leaving I’ll be able to sneak by them too.

My heart jolts as a guard rail brushes against my leg. My back tires are dangerously close to spinning out of control. I don’t slow down—I
can’t
. Damien or my father will get me if I do, and at this moment I don’t know which would be worse. I gun it and turn sharper, moving from the outside lane to the inside lane on a blind corner. Normally I’d never pull such a stunt but right now I’m alone out here…and running out of time.

As I lean into the corner, white hot light fills my vision, shooting into the back of my skull like a knife, blinding me.

No
.

I swerve to the right. I feel the exact moment where I lose control of the bike. For a second it feels like it’s floating in the air, and then suddenly, horrifically, it passes the point of no return. I grip the handlebars harder, pushing up against them with all my might, but it’s too late. The bike curves back along the road until it hits the guardrail.

The sound is like a thousand witches scratching a chalkboard with their blood red 5 inch nails. My stomach rolls, and then my front tires hit the guardrail and I’m rolling too, right through the air.

It feels like I’m airborne for over a minute. Time stretches until it seems to not even move. My head pounds with bitter knowledge.

I’m going to die
.

I’m going to die
.

I’m going to die
.

Heights are not “my thing.” That’s the nicest way I can think of to phrase my epic fear of heights. I can’t see the bottom of the cliff. It’s an abyss. Maybe I’ll fall forever. Maybe I’ll be this afraid forever.

Whack!

Something whips my chest, then bends back. I wrap my arms around the spindly, scratchy surface, scuffing my palms.

A tree branch. Thank God. Now all I have to do is climb down and…

I do the stupidest thing I could do.

I look down.

The abyss below me seems to swirl with ominous intent. The wind blowing through it seems to howl. I don’t think my heart has ever beat so fast in my entire life.
It’s coming for me
, I realize.
The lost souls of the dead are trying to drag me to hell!
I scream, clutching at the tree branch. It bends under my weight. I think I hear something crack.

Oh God, why the fuck didn’t I go on that diet with Candy? My huge ass was going to kill me! I take a deep breath.
Get it under control, Annie. That wasn’t a crack, that was just your cracked mind trying to freak you out because it’s a bitch
.

Crack!

The branch jostles. Oh fuck, there’s no denying I heard it that time. I’m gonna die!

“Hello?” A deep, masculine voice calls out. I don’t recognize the voice. It’s low and a little gravely. It sounds…nice. Not that I’d think about a guy’s voice while clinging to my life either. I mean, that would just be stupid.

Really stupid.

Way too stupid to actually do.

I shiver, biting my lower lip.

“Hello?” There’s panic in the man’s voice now. The sound of skidding dirt. He must have just jumped the guard rail and is now climbing down the freaking cliff to find me.

“Uh…” I whimper.
Loud and proud, Annie. You can conquer your fears
. “Uh…”

Okay, maybe I can’t conquer them. I hug the branch, shut my eyes and yell, “Here!”

The guy stops rustling around. “Where?”

The branch cracks again. Though it probably moves only a fraction of a centimeter, it feels like fifteen feet. I scream.

There’s a flash of light. I’m blinded, again, by him. “You alright?”

Was I alright? I was hanging off a freaking cliff! “Um…” Damnit, why did I have to think about the cliff again?

The light vanishes. “Hold on, babe. I’m comin’ up.”

I hug the branch. “T-thank you.”

And then he starts climbing and the tree starts wiggling.

Predictably, I scream again.

And, equally predictably, the branch cracks.

“Shit, we gotta get you off that, fast.”

Thanks for clarifying!
“Okay.”

Seconds later, he’s up by me. “Everything’s gonna be fine, babe. Here.” He leans forward and holds out his hand. “Just grab my hand and climb over to me.”

That sounds good. Really, really smart. “Okay.”

“On the count of three. One…two…three…”

“Okay.”

I shut my eyes.

And keep my arms wrapped tightly around the branches.

There’s a pause. “I meant on the count of three.”

“Yeah. Yeah, uh, duh,” I whisper.

“Ready to go again?”

“Yes.”

“Alright. One…”

It’s easy, Annie. Just reach out and take his hand. He’s a big strong man. He can swing you to safety. Either that, or put you out of your misery faster, because this branch started to give out the second you landed on it!

“Two…”

I take a deep breath. I could do this. All I had to do was let go for a few seconds.

“Three…”

I let out a warrior roar to pump myself up and…

Keep holding on.

The branch shifts. “Oh god, I’m sorry. Let’s do this again.”

The guy’s quiet for a moment. “You afraid of heights?”

Am I really that obvious?
“Maybe a little.”

He sighs.

“I know, I know, it’s pathetic!” I admit. “And if I don’t reach for you I’m going to freaking die, and you must be thinking how stupid and annoying it all is—”

“No,” he cuts me off. “That’s not what I was thinking at all.”

“Yeah right! That’s totally what you were thinking!”

There’s a silence, and in that silence, I realize how stupid I am. Where had that sass come from? And why
the fuck
was I sassing the guy who was trying to save my life?

“I don’t think you’re stupid and annoying,” he responds lightly, like I didn’t just have a stupid, self-righteous outburst. “Fear can paralyze you. It’s normal to close up when you’re scared.”

Really?
I think.
It’s normal to cling to a branch that you know is gonna fall instead of a man who can pull you to safety because you’re afraid of heights? That’s NORMAL?!?

“I once had this little puppy,” the guy begins.

Oh no.
Fuck
no. Puppy stories are always the worst. “I am not listening to a story about a cute little doggie dying in the last few moments of my life!”

“She doesn’t die,” the guy chuckles.

“Oh yeah? Then why did you say ‘once’?”

“’Cause she isn’t a puppy anymore.”

Oh. That makes sense. Sort of.

“So this puppy,” he says as the tree bends. I whimper and cling tighter to the tree. “Her mother died when she was young.”

“Oh god, I knew it! There
are
dead dogs in this story! You are such a horrible liar!”

“Well, alright, the mom couldn’t take care of her baby because she…had issues or somethin’…fuck…”

“Stop trying to sanitize it for me!”

“But you didn’t want to know that she’d died.”

I guess he had a point. “Fine. Mom dies. Baby is abandoned. So far, it’s going great. I can’t wait to see what happens next.”

He smartly decides to ignore my outburst and keeps going. “Well, this little boy adopted the puppy. Everyone told him not to. They said there was no way she’d make it. She wouldn’t eat, you see. She missed her mom too much, I guess.”

Oh God. The puppy’s going to starve to death in the little boy’s arms
. The tree swings as the man puts his foot on the branch right below mine.

“But the boy wouldn’t give up on her. He’d lost his mom too, and he knew how scary it was to be alone, and how much it hurt.”