9781618853011NoHoldsBarredChelcee Read online

  Kaycee made a small sound of terror. She hadn’t been able to say much because she couldn’t get free of his bone crushing hold on her throat. He’d kept his arm locked tight against her windpipe while he did the awful things he did to her. She had no understanding of half of what he said.

  Nine month keeper?

  What was that supposed to mean?

  His tactics were all about instilling fear in her with his sick, twisted words, with the way he wet her with his semen, she realized it, but surely there was some meaning in the things he said.

  He was worse than a depraved animal. One who got a perverted thrill out of making her nearly pass out from lack of oxygen, then he’d ease the pressure on her throat enough for her to draw a single, short breath, before he cut off her air again. She was no longer sure if she heard anything he said correctly.

  It was a game to him. A sick, sadistic, perverted game. He could care less if she survived the sport he played with her. Her vision wavered. If she passed out, what crude things would he do to her next?

  He’d come close to raping her—she felt as though she was raped. Her inner thighs were wet and sticky. She’d never wanted to puke so badly in her life.

  “I…can’t…breathe,” she choked. “Please…I…can’t…breathe!”

  His eyes turned as cold as a winter day. “Don’t you worry ‘bout breathin,’ I’ll let you breathe when I think it’s time.” Frosty blue eyes drilled into hers. “I’m pretty good at judging when you need air.” He made a laughing sound that hummed with the cords of insanity. “Though I did misjudge with a woman once, had my hands wrapped tight around her throat, my dick rammed in her. I was goin’ at her hard and fast.”

  A shadow crossed his face, an inkblot that spread dark fingers of pure evil. “Course, I’d screwed her so many times the first month after I kidnapped her, my nuts ached. Kept her locked in a little shed behind the house I called home. I gave her just enough food and water to make her real happy to see me when I come to visit.”

  His gaze drifted over her stomach, lingered. “Then she got sick, puking all over the place. Belly started to balloon, didn’t want a brat of hers. Now you, I feel just the opposite, can’t wait to see your belly swell. But her, she was too weak to have the honor of having my kid. Always crying and mewling like some sick cat, claimed I hurt her every time I fucked her.”

  He shrugged. “I was bored with her, anyway. The last time, she wouldn’t move her ass—bitch just laid there, wouldn’t fight. I couldn’t get a whimper out of her even when I bit off both her nipples. She lay there under me…still, silent, staring into space…glassy eyes fixed like she was already dead, and there I was, trying to get off, doing all the work, pumping in and outta her and her not helping me one bit. I couldn’t come.” He drew a deep breath, then sneered. “I wanted to kill her,” he said. “I wanted to kill her so bad.” His lips twisted into a slow sadistic grin of satisfaction. “So, I did.” His gaze centered on her, eyes flat and merciless “She died real slow-like, me squeezing the life outta her one degree at a time. I watched her face turn all purple and mottled and I slammed into her harder and harder. It got me so excited, watching her gasp and choke.”

  He laughed, the sound cold and deadly as he squeezed Kaycee’s throat tighter and tighter. “Her lips turned blue, like yours are right this minute. Then I let her breathe, let her draw a single breath. One little breath and I explained to her she was gonna die, but I’d decide when. She looked at me with hope in her eyes…I did her right then. She no longer excited me, but mostly, I killed her because I didn’t want her kid or her. She was a useless piece of trash, couldn’t make my cock stay hard.”

  Kaycee clawed at his hand, his fingers, but she couldn’t loosen his hold. He eased the pressure, laughed when she wheezed and fought to draw air into her starved lungs.

  “When she drew her final breath, my cock turned to stone, and I shot a big load in her. When I finished,” he shrugged. “I told her she was nothing but garbage to me. Garbage. I dumped her useless body in the woods near a mama coyote and her den of babies. I knew they’d take care of the body, scatter the bones. Yeah, the cunt was garbage. She no longer mattered. ”

  He rubbed his crotch. “But you and me…hell, we don’t seem to have a problem with my dick gettin’ hard or me gettin’ my jollies. I haven’t even been inside you yet, and I’ve already had a delicious taste of what you can do for me. I already know your sweet pussy is gonna milk my cock dry. And here I am, already hard and hurtin’ again, ready to go at you. I’d hate for you to become garbage to me, Kaycee.” He brushed her hair back from her face, tilted her chin and searched her eyes. “I love you.” He clamped her jaws between his fingers. “You get me my money or you won’t be breathin’ at all. It’s a great big world out there. It already holds the bones of women who thought they’d get away from me, not pay me what they owed me.”

  He pressed his mouth against hers, bit her bottom lip until he drew blood, then licked it off. “Your bones will simply add to the pile real nice like. I’ll collect one way or another. There won’t be enough left of you to bury. Got it?”

  She nodded. He slowly wiped the back of his hand across her bared breasts, smearing blood with the seminal fluid already on her.

  “There’s nowhere far enough you can run to escape me,” he warned. “Leave Reno, I’ll find you, no matter where you go. Report this sweet bit of loving we just shared…tell the cops…and I’ll cut your brother’s throat and feed him to the coyotes.” He pulled her into his arms, held her as if he owned her. “Now, relax. I’m going to bite you, honey.”

  She whimpered. Fresh tears stung her eyes. “Please, don’t…not again.” She hated begging him, hated being weak, but her nipple already felt like it was barely attached.

  Her nose stung. Her lips swollen.

  “Ahh…don’t cry…it’s just a little love bite, a test to make sure you’ve learned to respect and obey me.” His eyes glinted with pure evil. “Here are the rules. When I bite you, you don’t make a sound. That’s to test your obedience. Not a peep. If I hear one snivel, I’ll get upset. If I get upset, I might have to break your pretty neck.” He patted her belly. “With Junior growin’ in you, I don’t want to kill you. Not yet. I want our baby real bad. Hell, I might decide to keep you another nine months. Who knows? Yeah, I might just do that. I might want a couple of kids before I tire of you.” He leaned down and scraped his teeth across her bared shoulder.

  Kaycee clenched her fists tightly. The cry lodged in the back of her throat. Her body shook with the effort it took not to cry out. She could do this. She had to do this. If she wanted to survive, she had to do this.

  “That’s right, girl. You’re doing fine…just fine. Brace yourself now, here comes the big one.”

  Then he sank his teeth deep in her flesh.

  Biting the inside of her jaw, Kaycee choked back a scream. He drove his teeth deeper into the hollow of her shoulder.

  Oh, God! Oh, God!

  White-hot pain spread across her shoulder. It couldn’t have hurt worse if a red-hot branding iron had been stuck to her flesh. Warm liquid slid down her back and between her breasts.

  He worked his mouth furiously, grunting and making swallowing noises.

  She shivered when he leaned back and licked his lips.

  “Ah…even your blood is sweet, warm and sweet, like thick, rich nectar.”

  Her blood stained his lips, his teeth, his throat and shirt.

  “Very good, Kaycee. I’m proud of you. You’re learning. I like that. I didn’t hear one cry.” He drew her closer to him, his voice low and intimate. “No biting now…you ever bite me again, and I’ll fucking shred your skin to the bone with my teeth.”

  He closed his mouth over hers, thrust his tongue inside her mouth in such a way she understood he dared her to bite him again. She tasted her blood on his lips, on his tongue.

  An animal!

  He was a sick, perverted, evil thing that needed to be put down. She couldn’t bear
this, bear his touch. Kaycee rubbed her mouth with the back of her hand when he released her.

  “I’d rather die than have you touch me again,” she cried.

  “You see? That’s a problem, girlie, because sooner or later, I’m gonna fuck you. I’m gonna do you real good.” He sighed, as if suddenly bored. “Or I might kill you, depends on my mood.” He wrapped his fingers in her hair and jerked her toward him. “Just remember, dying is the easy part.”

  He scraped his nails across her exposed bosom leaving four red furrows behind.

  She sucked in a sharp breath. An icy chill rippled through her.

  Why did she feel as if she’d never be warm again?

  Her teeth chattered violently.

  Dizziness assaulted her.

  God, was she going into shock?

  Or about to pass out?

  “Payment owed,” he sneered, touching the side of his face where she’d clawed him. “Just remember, girlie, I always exact revenge. Anything you do to me…I’ll do to you, only much worse.” He eyed the line of raw, crimson streaks trailing across her breasts with smug satisfaction, and then gave her a sly wink. “It’s everything that comes before the dying that’ll kill you. And everyone you care about will suffer far more than you will. Remember that.”

  He reached down and picked her camisole off the floor and shoved it in her hands. “Of course, you don’t have anyone left to care about, or who cares about you, except that crippled brother of yours. From what I hear, he hates your guts.” He patted his zipper. “This was just a little appetizer to get us going. I’m a hungry man, doll face. I want the whole meal. I intend to have it. Me, you…and my buddy here…we’re just getting acquainted. Anyone gets in my way, he’s a dead man.” He locked his fingers around her jaw. “Understand me? Relay the message to the fucking bastard who interfered in my business last night. And if he’s important to you, you better get him out of your life or I will.”

  “He’s not important to me,” she sobbed. “I don’t know him. I never saw him before last night.”

  He leaned toward her, lifted her face and probed her gaze. “Maybe that’s true, little girl, but I saw the way he looked at you. I saw the way he led you out of the lounge, as if he couldn’t wait to stick his wick in you. I know Jace well enough to know he won’t back off from something or someone who has captured his interest.” He grinned. “Maybe I should put a few more marks on you just to let him know I been here and mean business.” He snickered. “Jace ain’t the type to want leftovers. He sure ain’t the type to share.”

  She trembled. The man had accomplished his goal. She was terrified of what he might do to the ones closest to her. “Jace hasn’t touched me. I told you, I don’t know him.”

  “No? I think you lie to me, sweet Kaycee. I think Jace touched you a lot.”

  “He didn’t. I swear it.”

  “That’s good then, ‘cause I have to tell you, sweet Kaycee, you might have eased the load on my balls, but my dick still hurts. It aches somethin’ fierce. If I learn any man has touched you, I’ll kill him.” He rubbed her belly. “This kid in you is mine and I’ll not tolerate any doubts cast.” He smiled. “I feel damned good, a successful man. I want to torture you some more, because you know what? I really think you’re lying to me about Jace.”

  She swayed as the blood drained from her head. Jace. He knew she’d married Jace!

  God! No.

  He couldn’t possibly know.

  Could he?

  She fought against the tears scalding her eyes. He couldn’t know she’d married the cowboy.

  No one knew.

  She hadn’t even told Taylor this morning when she returned home.

  Clasping her top across her breasts, she prayed frantically for the elevator to reach its destination. Only minutes had passed, but it seemed as if she’d been trapped inside this cage for hours.

  What could happen in an elevator?

  The answer remained the same. A lot. Smitt could have killed her. He’d had his hands, mouth, teeth, and tongue on her body. He came on her, then smeared his semen on her. Next time he might do worse.

  She had to find a way to protect herself.

  She needed to start carrying a knife.

  No!

  A gun!

  Both!

  Yes. She’d carry both.

  A gun.

  A knife.

  And if the insane, sadistic fucker came near her again, she’d slice off his goddamned dick, right after she blew off his balls!

  Chapter Ten

  A decent cowboy does not take what belongs to someone else and if he does he deserves to be strung up and left for the flies and coyotes.

  ~Judge Roy Bean

  Penthouse Floor

  Saturday10:30 a.m.

  Abruptly the elevator rumbled to a halt. The door swished open on Kaycee’s choked cry of relief. She ducked beneath Smitt’s clawing fingers and burst through the open doorway in a blind stumble.

  Panting, she ran down the passageway and around a corner—straight into a mountain of human flesh. The man grunted and staggered back under the impetus of her head-on charge. He quickly banded an arm around her, managing to steady both of them.

  “Whoa, honey.” He tightened his grip around her waist.

  “Let go of me!”

  “What’s your hurry?” he drawled.

  The voice, low, husky, and dearly familiar penetrated the haze of terror enveloping her. She flung back her head.

  Thank God!

  She could have wept with relief at the sight of her cowboy towering over her. “Jace,” she whispered feebly. “I—”

  “You came back.” He sounded pleased.

  “Yes. No! I—” Confused, she shook her head.

  Abruptly, his expression changed to one of bewilderment. His eyes locked on the damage done to her face, the way she held her torn blouse in place. Anger flared in his dark eyes. “What the…who did this to you?”

  Instantly he switched his gaze from her to the man who skidded to a halt several feet behind her. Jace’s eyes widened with recognition.

  “You bastard. You’re dead!” He took a threatening step toward him.

  Smitt held up a hand in a futile attempt to ward Jace off and backed away.

  “She’s mine. I own her.”

  “The hell you do,” Jace shouted. His face darkened with fury. “You must have a death wish.” He shoved Kaycee behind his back in a smooth, protective move, then lunged toward the loan shark, his big hands folded into meaty fists. “I’ll kill you for touching her, you sonofabitch!”

  Smitt whirled and broke toward the elevator. Watching the odious man scurry away like a rat abandoning a sinking ship, Kaycee sighed with relief. By the time she followed Jace around the corner, the door to the elevator was swishing together. Smitt flipped him the bird as the door sealed him safely inside.

  Swearing viciously, Jace pivoted toward the exit at the opposite end of the corridor.

  “No!” She grabbed his arm and jerked him around. “Please.”

  Surprise flickered across his face. His eyes flashed fire. “What are you doing? Turn me loose.”

  Kaycee felt as if she was going to crumple and dissolve right in front of him. “Please. I–I know you want to beat the living shit out of him and I’d love for you to do it, but I–I need you more. Don’t leave me here alone.”

  He hesitated, swore beneath his breath and nodded. “Sweetheart, you have a very dangerous friend there.”

  She swayed like a broken reed. Nausea bubbled in the back of her throat. His face wavered, blurred in and out as everything whirled in a maddening rush. “I…he’s not…my…friend”

  “No shit.” Jace gathered her in his arms.

  She gasped, but couldn’t muster the strength to protest when he lifted her in his arms.

  “I feel so old and worn out.”

  “I know, baby.”

  “I’m sorry,” she breathed and buried her face against his throat. “I’m so sor
ry to get you involved in this.”

  “Hey…ssh, sweetheart, don’t cry. It’s okay.” He nuzzled the top of her head with his chin in a gesture meant to comfort.

  But it wasn’t okay. It’d never be okay as long as Smitt Davis lived and she knew it.

  Drawing her closer, Jace pressed her head against his chest. “I’ll take care of you,” he said tenderly. “What did the sonofabitch do to you?”

  His words sent an ache through her heart. She’d lost all chance of happiness with this man. She had to get him out of her life. For his sake, his safety, she had to make the break swift and cruel.

  Please God, just not right now. Let me have him a little while longer.

  She couldn’t shake her need for him or shake the feeling she was safe in his arms. Kaycee tangled her fingers in his shirt and wept scalding tears against his chest.

  “You don’t understand. You can’t get involved with me.”

  “No, sweetheart, it’s you who doesn’t understand. I am involved. We’re involved. We were very involved last night, and that’s not changing today. We’re married, for better, for worse. I’m not going away just because you wish it.”

  Jace frowned. Whatever her problems were, he was here to stay. It was far too late for any other choice. Her troubles were now his. He was her husband, damn it! Didn’t she understand he was so damned involved there was no turning back for him?

  There was no dismissing from his mind the simple fact he’d waited an eternity for her.

  Hell, yes, he was involved.

  And he was staying involved.

  He couldn’t turn his back and walk away because she was in trouble. When he married her, he took his vows seriously. Even though it was a quickie Reno wedding, it was real, the ceremony performed by an authentic preacher. The marriage was as legal and binding as any church ceremony ever performed. She was going to have to come to terms with the fact she was his wife.