I quelled the urge to dissolve into his touch. When had I become so eager for a man? So needy?
When had I become such a slave to my senses?
“I want my clothes back,” I said, purposefully making my tone harsh.
His gaze traveled the length of my body. “Do you not like this gown?”
“What do you think?”
He smiled slowly.
“Tell me, Kyrin. Did you enjoy yourself? Undressing a helpless, unconscious woman?”
With exaggerated movements, he leaned into me until our faces were inches apart. “I doubt you have ever been helpless, Tai la Mar.”
I lifted my head, closing even more distance. My nose brushed the tip of his. “You have one minute to return every article of clothing, every weapon that you stole from me. Or I’ll—or I’ll—”
His brows curved with insolence. “Or you’ll what?”
God, I didn’t know. My head flopped onto the pillow, and I screeched.
He didn’t hesitate, didn’t even seem concerned when he admitted, “I have already destroyed your clothing and your weapons.”
“You f**king bastard.”
“Do not be angry I have dressed you so. I wanted to see you in the attire of my homeland.” His voice lacked any hint of remorse, held only a husky resonance of desire. “And I must tell you, dark angel, that garbed as you are, you look like sex. Rare, carnal sex. You are more beautiful than I had imagined…” He leaned closer with every word, closing the distance between us again as if he didn’t like to be separated. “And imagine you I did. Naked, under me, over me, taking me inside your body and—”
“Shut up,” I said on a wispy catch of breath. Moisture pooled between my legs.
Don’t soften. He’s strapped you to his bed.
His gaze fastened on my lips, then moved to my eyes. I held his stare, the air around us thickened with sexual tension. Abruptly he shook his head. “No. Not yet.”
Breaking the strange spell he possessed on my senses, he jolted up and stalked to the window. Keeping his back to me, he said, “I want to kiss you again, but I will not until I have explained some things to you.” Here he drew in a sharp breath. “You cannot leave this house, Mia. The armband will see to that.”
I blinked in confusion. “I don’t understand.”
“Do you stray outside of this home, a shock will begin at the band and travel the length of your entire body. The pain, intense and consuming as it will be, will only cease when you reenter my home.”
“You’re lying.”
“I tell you this not to anger or scare you,” he said, “but to warn you what an attempted escape will bring. You will remain here as my guest until our business is concluded.”
The husky timbre of his voice was so finite, so resolute.
My God, he really was telling the truth. He thought to trap me like an animal, to take away my freedom and rights. My toes curled with the force of my distress. “Did you abduct Rianne Harte and tie her this way?”
He pivoted and faced me, his eyes tortured. “I tried to protect Rianne.”
“The same way your sister tried to protect William Steele?” I sneered.
A muscle ticked in his jaw; he didn’t answer.
“This is not the way to woo a woman into your arms.”
His brows lifted. “Is it not?” He eased beside me again, his hip pressed against mine, and lifted another tendril of my hair. He shifted the glossy strands through his fingers, watched them fall, then recaptured them, desire growing in his expression. “Perhaps I should try and prove you wrong.”
The knowledge of my imprisonment warred with my still-swirling desire. Keep talking, I told myself. “You never told me what type of business we have, what was worth risking your life to abduct me from my own workplace.”
“At first I thought to trade you for my sister,” he admitted, caressing my hair against his cheek. His eyes closed in surrender, just as my scalp tingled with heady sensation.
I jerked my head to the side, quickly and efficiently tugging the inky locks from his hands. “An agent’s creed is duty before emotion. A.I.R. will not negotiate for my release.”
“Your colleges would sentence you to death?” he inquired.
“In a heartbeat,” I answered. No, that wasn’t true. They would hunt him down and fight for me, just like I’d do for them.
Kyrin’s chin edged to the side, his eyes lit with curiosity. “And this does not upset you?”
I understood A.I.R.’s policies. I’d even helped make them. “Why set a killer free to save one life? The killer will then take many more.”
“This conversation is moot,” he said with a wave of his hand. “Before you woke, I had already decided not to trade you.”
Dread unfurled inside me. “Then what do you plan to do with me? How long do you hope to keep me here?”
He deliberated a moment, before answering evasively, “I will keep you only as long as needed to gain your trust.”
Trust? Was he serious? I snorted.
“You trusted me once, to help you catch Atlanna.”
“You’ve got me tied to a bed. How can I ever trust you again?” I trusted so few, anyway, and those I did were human. “I did not think you a foolish man until just now.”
“We shall see,” was his only reply.
He eased to his feet and stepped toward the door.
A small ember of panic sparked to life. I wrenched again at my bonds. “Where are you going?” I cried. “Don’t leave me here.”
He paused, faced me. I collapsed against the soft mattress. I had to say something, anything, to keep him here. I didn’t want to be alone again. “Why are you so secretive about Atlanna?” I asked. “Are you helping her? Is keeping me here a plan you’ve concocted together?”
That tortured gleam returned to his eyes. “No. I’d rather die than aid her.”
“Then let me go and help me find her.”
“I will help you, Mia. You. Not A.I.R. I detest all hunters.”
“I am a hunter.” Our gazes clashed, and I was helpless to glance away.
“You,” he said, “I am willing to rethink.” He pushed out a breath. “Are you hungry?”
My stomach knotted in protest, but I said, “Yes.” Food always relaxed people. Made them more willing to talk.
“We shall eat.”
“You’ll have to untie me,” I said, making a conscious effort not to beg.