Page 48 of Take

The sight of the rope had me screaming and yelling and punching at him. I wasn’t getting anywhere as his weight kept my movement to a minimum. Within seconds, he had my wrists tied together and strung to the post on the right side of the bed.

“I wasn’t leaving. I have nowhere to go, damn it. I just want to get away from you.”

“Well, you’re getting your wish.”

“Let me go, Jasper.”

His jaw clenched and he ran his hand through his hair. His gaze trailed up my arms stretched above my head then back to my face.

“Max . . .” He pursed his lips together and I saw the conflict in his expression, the turbulence in his grey eyes like a thunderstorm. “And for the record, I don’t trust you either.”

“You don’t trust anyone,” I replied.

He nodded. “True.” He turned and walked to the door. “You need to realize when I say something, I mean it.”

My fingers curled around the rope. “Xamien hears of this, he’ll kill you.”

He had his hand on the doorknob. “Good. He’s the only one who’s earned it.”

Shit. I couldn’t let him leave. He couldn’t leave me here like this. “I’ll go after him.” I shouted the only thing that might get his attention. “And you can’t stop me.”

He slowly turned. “What?”

“You heard me.”

“Yeah, but it was so stupid I thought I’d misheard.”

I pulled on the ropes, trying to slip my hands through. “It’s not stupid. It makes sense. Instead of us—”

“You aren’t going near him.”

“Instead of waiting for him to hunt me, it would be more productive to—”

“More productive?”

“Jasper, just untie me.”

“No.” He crossed his arms and leaned back against the door. “But please, continue. I’d like to hear your plan to go after a Scar-slash-vampire who is an ancient and can Trace. But no matter what you say, it won’t make me untie you.”

Our gazes clashed and heat rose inside me. I didn’t have a plan; all I had was frustration and . . . desire. He’d tied me up and was going to leave me here, yet instead of being royally pissed off, a sweet ache throbbed between my legs.

Screw it.

“Kiss me,” I said. His arrogant expression faltered with a subtle flicker of uncertainty and then it was steady again. “Kiss me.”

He scowled and I thought he was going to walk out the door, but suddenly, it was as if all the caged emotions broke free and he came at me.

My fingers curled around the rough rope as he hovered over me for a second, and then he was on top of me. His hand came around my neck, fingers bruising as he squeezed. “You want my cock inside you, Max? Because a kiss isn’t going to do it.”

I tried to nod, but he was preventing me from doing anything. “Yes,” I managed.

Jasper’s grip tightened and air trapped in my lungs, but I didn’t fight him, which was a test. His own test to see if I’d trust him to let me go.

Just when I thought I’d pass out, he let me go. As I sucked in air, he stole it with his mouth slamming into mine. I moaned beneath his harsh assault. It was like he wanted to punish me, yet it was filled with need and unrestrained passion.

“Sunshine.” His voice vibrated across my lips. It was a soft whisper, and yet there was nothing soft or gentle about him at the moment. It was angry and fierce as his mouth tore into mine, tongue violating, hands tearing at my clothes at the same time. He pulled my shirt up over my arms and left it there then undid my jeans and dragged them down my legs.

He swore when they got caught on my shoes and had to yank them off first.