Bond Betrayed Read Online Free Page A

dangerous hormones pumping through his system—pushing him to do something, anything. But his options were limited. His survival instinct demanded he neutralize the threat, which was unacceptable. And every other instinct he possessed demanded he wake her up and fuck her until he’d worked her blood out of his system, which was also not going to happen.
    Damn it!
    He stepped away from the bed, giving himself space from the temptation it held. It wasn’t enough, though. Taking a deep breath, he ran his fingers through his hair and tried to regain some sense of control. Yeah, good luck with that.
    Fuck. What’d gone wrong?
    The trap had been perfect. He’d gotten it right down to the second, due in large part to the great pains he’d taken in studying seductresses—learning how much interest to express to engage and, more importantly, how much indifference to use in order to ensnare. But there was nothing that’d even hinted at the strength of her blood, or how heady it was. Nor had his research told him how powerful she’d be.
    He reached down and picked up the knife from where it’d fallen next to her. The cold steel of the blade reminded him of how it’d felt on his skin. It was only in that moment that he allowed himself to acknowledge the full weight of his fear. For one moment, he’d honestly thought he was going to die. He would’ve deserved it, too.
    But he hadn’t, he reminded himself. The bond had held. And, with any luck, it would continue to hold until this was done. He had to stay in control, though. That was the key to holding a seductress. And if he had any hope of staying in control, he needed to get her covered.
    After taking a steadying breath, he grabbed his shirt off the floor. It took some maneuvering to get her arms into the sleeves, but it was a lot easier than trying to wrestle her back into her own tight clothing. And, after buttoning it, she was at least somewhat covered, which made it worth the effort.
    The racing tempo of his heart had slowed to almost normal when her milky-white skin disappeared beneath the thick linen, but any sense of calm was lost as he picked her up and carried her to the room that was going to be hers. Having her snuggled in his arms, her face awash in the innocence of sleep and her disheveled black curls tickling his bare chest, triggered his protective streak.
    Perfect, like she hadn’t fucked with his head enough when she was conscious. Now she was screwing with him even while she slept?
    It wasn’t really her fault, though. Even as messed up as he was right now, he knew that. And blaming her only made him feel worse about the whole situation. Forcing the bond on her had been a shitty thing to do. There was no way to get around it. It was something he’d never imagined himself capable of doing. Then again, he’d never thought he’d see the day Rathe would have his sister Molly captive either.
    Yeah, life’s a bitch. Now, man the fuck up and get this done.
    Tucking Nikki under the thick blankets, he allowed himself a minute to admire the graceful curve of her neck before forcing himself to walk away. She was going to hate him. She already did. He had no right to admire anything about her. But he did, and not just that luscious body of hers. The woman was fearless, not to mention tenacious.
    Yeah, he’d noticed her pause when she’d found his enforcer’s ink. There was no way she’d forgotten the enforcers’ role in her family’s demise. Still, she’d determined what she wanted and she’d gone after it. She had guts. And skin smoother than that strappy silk top she’d thrown on his floor.
    He forced himself out of the memory as he firmly closed the door to the room behind him. He needed space. And a drink couldn’t hurt. Didn’t matter what, anything to make him forget the taste of her blood.
    Rounding the hallway, he took the stairs two at a time but was stopped by the ringing of his cell phone. He grabbed it out of his pants pocket and, though