Twisted Desire (7 page)

“Yes.”

“Oh Lord.”
She thrust her face in her hands, obviously mortified, just like I knew she would be. I chuckled, which earned me a vicious glare.

“Listen, you shouldn’t be embarrassed. I get why you’re crying. You’ve been pulled into this sick world with no idea why. I don’t judge you at all for crying, Penny.”

She gave me another vicious glare, which surprised me. I was being understanding, and she gets mad? She suddenly sat up and pointed her finger at me.

“Don’t you dare tell me you get why I’m crying… don’t you dare,”
she seethed. “You have no idea what I’m going through. None. So don’t sit there, look me in the eye, and tell me you
get
why I’m crying.”
 

She rested her hand back down by her side, her angry eyes never looking away from me. Her chest was heaving, but this time in anger and not from crying, and damn if I wasn’t impressed with her guts right then. She just told me off, and while it surprised me, I couldn’t help that I loved it too.

I sat back in my chair and smiled at her. Not just a small tilt of my lips, but a huge-ass smile from ear to ear. By the look on her face, I could tell she wasn’t expecting me to do that in an otherwise tense situation.

She sniffed, wiped her nose again, and asked, “Why are you smiling at me?”
 

“Because you’re innocent, Penny Santoro, but damn, you have balls.”

She squinted her eyes, thinking about that. “Maybe. All I know right now is that I’m being held against my will and have no idea why. You all are a bunch of bastards.”

She looked out the window then, dabbing her eyes with the tissue. Whether she knew it or not, she did have guts. Not everyone would talk to the man holding them against their will with no fear of retaliation. I liked it.

“Do you have siblings?”
 

Her head whipped back to look at me, suspicion in her eyes. “Why do you ask?”

I sighed. Part of it was to try and get her to open up, to trust me more. The other part was honestly curious. There was something about this girl that intrigued me, whether I liked it or not.
 

“We are stuck with each other. I was just trying to make conversation,”
was all I answered her.

She rolled her eyes. “Make conversation? Like pretend that everything is hunky-dory and that I haven’t been kidnapped, drugged, and taken God knows where, and you aren’t the one who kidnapped me?”
Her eyes were shooting daggers.

“First of all, I wasn’t the one who took you, got it? I’ve been assigned to watch over you, and second, things aren’t
hunky-dory
as you say,”
I told her, leaning over and looking her straight in the eye. I caught the flash of fear that appeared in her eyes and didn’t miss her scoot back a bit on her bed. But her eyes then changed to look like they were made of steel, and she lifted her chin a bit in defiance.
 

“No, things are definitely not hunky-dory.”
She sighed, sliding down so she was lying on her back. “I have two brothers and three sisters.”

I sat back down on my chair, suddenly aware she’d changed the subject and answered my question. That was a lot of siblings. For some strange reason, it surprised me

“Are you close with them, Penny?”

She looked at me, like really looked at me. It made me feel suddenly open and raw, like she was trying to see deep into my soul and figure me out. It was a foreign feeling, and one I didn’t care for. I coughed and crossed my legs, trying to shake her off.

“I’m close with one of my sisters,”
was all she said.

Trying to avoid having her look at me like that again, I sat back and did my best to be casual. “What’s her name?”

“Ava—why?”

“I told you, just trying to make conversation.”

“Whatever.”

I chuckled. “You really amuse me.”

Her head whipped to look at me, her face showing annoyance. “I amuse you? Well, thank goodness you are happy. Heaven forbid anything less.”

I couldn’t help but laugh. This girl definitely kept me on my toes. I never knew what to expect with her, and I found I liked it. I liked her.
Damn
.

“Do I sense some hostility in you?”
I asked.

She rolled her eyes, then looked back out her window. “I can’t imagine why. Seriously, please let me go.”

She didn’t even look at me when she asked, just said it. My body jolted, not expecting it. It wasn’t like I hadn’t thought of it before, but there was no way in hell I’d do it. Roman would shoot me on the spot and toss my body overboard.

I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees, and exhaled a large breath. “Listen, Penny, I can’t do that. What I can do is my best to make things comfortable for you here. I’ve been assigned to watch over you, and I will. Just trust me for once.”

She ran a hand through her hair, not looking at me. It was silent for a minute, then she began to speak.
 

“When I was a little girl, I dreamed of becoming a fashion designer. I would stay up late every night with my sketch pad and draw new designs over and over. My ideas wouldn’t stop coming to me, and I loved being able to sketch them.”

She stopped then, leaving me completely confused as to why she brought it up. What the hell did that have to do with her situation?

She suddenly turned to look at me, the light making the tears on her lashes glow. I cringed at the sight, hating it for her.

“I’m now in school for fashion design, and the thought of never going back, let alone never seeing my family again, tears me apart. You can’t possibly know how that feels. What you’ve done to me, it’s indescribable.”

And like a shot in the heart, her words found their way inside and dug an ugly hole to rot. I saw red and balled my fists. If Roman was in the room right then, I knew I’d punch him out. No self-control could stop me.
 

“Once again, I didn’t choose this for you, whether you believe me or not. I’ve only been assigned to watch over you. I’m sorry you were taken and are being kept in the dark. Trust me, I don’t like it either. Would it help if I got you a sketch pad and pencil?”

Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree, a sight so beautiful it took my breath away.
 

“You’d do that for me?”
she asked.

It was the least I could do. “Of course.”

The tiny smile that came over her face made me feel things I hadn’t in a long time. My heart jumped a beat, and tingles went down my spine. I realized it made me happy that I had made her happy. What the hell? This wasn’t good.

“Do you have siblings, Tag?”

My eyes shot to hers. She finally had a somewhat relaxed look on her face, and I loved it. I debated about making up a story to tell, but in the end, decided on the truth.

“Yes, I have a brother and a sister.”

She grabbed a piece of her hair and started to twist it around her finger. The movement had me mesmerized as I continued to talk.
 

“I’m the oldest. Marissa is next, and then Isaiah is the youngest.”
I stopped then, thoughts of my siblings running through my head. It had been years since I’d seen them, though we talked here and there via email. My family did not approve of my choice of work, so that caused a rift that got worse as time went on, and now with me being out in the middle of the ocean, well, it didn’t help.

“Are you close to them?”
Her eyes looked so genuine, so caring. It wasn’t a look I was used to seeing anymore, so I didn’t know what to do with it.
 

“Uh, I was.”

She suddenly sat up and turned to face me, still twisting her hair around her finger. “What happened?”

This was getting too personal, too close. We’d suddenly changed to my family, something I wasn’t prepared for. “I’m sure it will come as no surprise that they don’t approve of my choice of work,”
I said, harsher than I’d intended. I could tell by the look on her face she was hurt, but so be it. I did not want to talk about my life.
 

“Makes sense,”
she said as she dropped her chin to look at her lap. Shit. I’d hurt her feelings, but again, nothing I could do about it. I had to remind myself to keep a distance; I couldn’t start to blur the job I’d been assigned to do. I couldn’t afford to let her in, no matter how much I was beginning to want it.
 

Dammit to hell.

Chapter 7

I peered up to look at him and saw his jaw was clenched. It was like he was going through some inner turmoil, and it scared me. While he’d never shown me anything but kindness, he was still one of them, and I’d be wise not to forget it.

I hadn’t meant to upset him, though. He’d asked about my family, so I asked about his. Didn’t he say it was for conversation? Apparently it was only a one- sided-one. Figured.
 

I lifted my chin a little and spoke. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. Maybe it’s best you left.”

His eyes shot to mine, and suddenly he was out of his chair and bending on his knees in front of me. My eyes widened in shock as I watched his chest expand with each breath he took. It was so toned, so sculpted, my hands begged to touch, but of course I wouldn’t. Ever.

“Querida, I am the one who calls the shots here, not you,”
he told me, the soft tone of his voice defying the demand of his words. “You did not upset me, but know one thing—I don’t talk about things that I have no interest in sharing.”
 

I started to turn my head to avoid his stare when his hand shot out and cupped my cheek. His thumb rubbed below my lower lip not once, but twice, sending shivers down my spine. I did my best not to let that show, but by the smile that came over his face, I knew I’d failed. Damn him.

“Don’t turn away from me when I’m talking to you. It’s rude.”
 

I gave him a scowl, which only made his smile widen. I tried to shake his hand from my face, but it wouldn’t budge. He leaned over me, his mouth going to my ear.

“Trust me, Penny Santoro, I won’t ever hurt you, regardless what you think.”
His whispering breath caressed my ear, making me shiver even more; there was no way to hide it. When he moved back onto his chair, I almost cried out at the loss. I sat on my hands to prevent them from reaching out for him, begging for his warm body next to mine again. It was insane how much I craved someone to be close, to hold me, to tell me everything was going to be okay. It was insane that I wanted it from him. I’d only been on this yacht for a few days, and already I was losing my sanity.

When I looked up at him, I saw him gazing over my shoulder out the small window in my room. What was he thinking? And who was this man? I suddenly wanted to know so much more about him, which instantly had me on guard. He was still on the bad side, the side that took me. He says to trust him, and I do, a little, but I can’t fully.

“My father started taking me to the shooting range when I was just a young kid,”
he said out of nowhere. I squinted my eyes in curiosity, wondering where this was going. “I have always been a gifted shot, from the time I started. I rarely miss my target.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I stayed silent. Was he trying to tell me something? Give me a warning if I misbehaved?

He must have seen the confusion on my face. “I’m telling you that you are safe with me, Penny. If anyone tries to hurt you, they’ll have to get through me first, which won’t happen.”

My heart thudded at his words and warmed over. He wasn’t trying to warn me to behave; he wanted to reassure me he would protect me. I grabbed a strand of my long hair and started twisting it around my finger again. I looked into his eyes and said the only thing I could at the moment.

“Thank you.”

He nodded and stood up, pushing his chair back. “I need to go do some things, one being to bring you your dinner. I’ll be back.”
With that, he turned and walked out the door, never looking back at me.
 

I listened as his footsteps faded as he walked down the hall, and I clutched onto my pillow, holding it like it was a warm body pressed up against mine. I couldn’t deny that I wished it were him instead. His soft touch against my cheek and lower lip, and the way his warm breath felt on my ear, it turned something on inside that I knew would refuse to turn off. I really was going crazy out here in the middle of nowhere to want the man holding me hostage to wrap me in his arms and hold me. I sighed as I thought about the stubble on his chin, his hazel eyes that took on a glow when he looked at me, and his long, strong fingers that sent shocks through me when they touched me.