Kidnapped by My Mate

Stranger at the Bar

BELLE

I couldn't keep my eyes off the man across the bar from me.

At that moment, I wished that I had dressed up for my flight to Paris.

When our eyes met for a moment, a wave rushed through my body, an unfamiliar feeling I had never experienced. It was like I had found all the answers I was looking for.

I dropped my gaze, turning to the drink in front of me. I needed to calm my nerves. Flying made me nervous.

Slowly, my eyes drifted back to the man, who was now looking down at his phone.

He was breathtaking... Large to the point that he almost looked comical in his barstool.

His muscles strained against his black shirt and blue jeans, telling me he must've spent quite a lot of time in the gym.

He had chocolate-brown hair, mesmerizing dark-green eyes, and a jaw that could've cut through diamond.

His lips were luscious and full, and I unconsciously leaned in, imagining how it would feel to press my lips against them. I imagined what I might do if I were the sort of person that was confident enough to approach him.

I found myself daydreaming about the possibilities...

"What's your name?" I would ask from across the bar.

He would smile and bring his drink along to sit right next to me.

Then he would lean in and whisper his name into my ear, his lips grazing my earlobe.

"Meet me in the bathroom," I would wink before walking away.

I would feel his eyes burning the back of my neck.

A few moments later he would burst through the door, his eyes dripping with desire.

His hard body would press against mine, nearly knocking the air out of me.

He would push me up against the sink, kissing my neck, my legs straddled around him.

"Alpha," a man approached him. "It's time to board the plane."

What a strange way to speak to someone, I thought to myself, downing the last few sips of my drink.

Before he got up, the gorgeous stranger looked at me one last time, a mischievous smile on his face, like he could read my every thought.

"Final boarding call for Flight 2497 to Paris," the announcement boomed overhead.

"Shit," I looked at the time. I was late.

I ushered the bartender over. "May I have the check please?"

"Don't worry about it darling," she said. "That gentleman over there already paid for it."

How strange... He paid for my drink and yet did not say a word to me.

I tried to push away my thoughts about the stranger as I walked across the airport toward the gate, luggage in tow. I couldn't seem to calm myself down, even though I tried.

I absolutely hated flying.

And an eleven-hour flight to Paris was the last thing I wanted to be doing the day before Christmas Eve. But my mother had begged me to come spend the holidays with her and her husband.

I knew that she'd only invited me out of guilt.

I hadn't seen my mother in over five years, and she'd seemed to have no problem leaving me behind after my dad had gotten sick. It had only taken her one year to get remarried and one more to have a kid.

Once on the airplane, I couldn't keep my hands from shaking.

When I finally made it to my seat, far in the back of the plane, I looked at the man who I would sit beside for the next eleven hours. His gaze moved up and down my body, stopping at my chest for a while before meeting my eyes.

He smirked. "Well, hello there."

Great. Just perfect. I get to spend the next eleven hours being ogled by a creep.

"Hi," I muttered.

Ignoring Mr. Creeper, I picked up my carry-on and lifted it above me to put it in the overhead compartment.

I had almost managed to fit my luggage in when I felt hands wrap around my waist, touching the bare skin of my stomach where my shirt had ridden up.

The hands tightened around me and sparks ran down my frame. I jerked my head around to see who was attached to the hands, and felt my eyes widen as I took him in.

It was the man from the bar.

A sudden deep growl snapped me back into an upright position, and my eyes met his to find that he was watching me check him out.

I probably should have slapped him, but instead I let my eyes close and basked in the feeling of his arms around me as delicious sparks coursed through my body. I didn't even know that it was possible to feel this good.

I felt his head move from mine as he bent to nuzzle my neck. I tilted my head to give him better access, and he let out an approving grunt.

And then I felt him place a gentle kiss right where my neck and shoulder met. First my knees went weak, then my entire body went numb as a breathy sigh exited my mouth. He smiled against my neck, chuckling and taking all of my weight into his arms as I leaned completely into him to stop myself from falling.

I was in absolute heaven.

The clearing of a throat snapped me out of my trance, and I squeaked and tried to pull away, remembering where I was.

I heard my suitcase sliding toward me and quickly ducked, waiting for its hard corner to smash into my head.

But nothing happened, and instead I heard, "Careful, beautiful."

He smiled at me and winked before shoving my bag into the compartment and snapping it closed. Still keeping his hand on my back, he turned to look at the woman behind him who had been trying to get our attention during our intense moment. The woman looked shocked, and hesitantly cleared her throat once more.

"Sorry, I just need to get to my seat, and you guys are blocking the aisle. I didn't mean to interrupt your reunion. You two clearly haven't seen each other in a while," she smiled sweetly.

Wanting to correct her, I opened my mouth to say that we had never technically met before, but the man holding me beat me to it.

"We were just finding our seats. We'll be out of your way in a second." His voice was smooth and reassuring.

I went to move away, looking forward to escaping the awkward situation, but the man just tightened his hold on me.

He leaned down and whispered in my ear: "Not so fast...You're not getting away that easily."

Then he looked at the creeper who would be sitting next to me during the flight. "Move," he said to him.

Mr. Creeper just sat there and gawked at us for a second. It made me very uncomfortable to think he'd been watching us.

"What?" he asked.

"Move," the good-looking man repeated. "I'm sitting there."

"I'm sorry? I'm not moving. This is my seat."

The man holding me growled low. "Here, take mine." He handed Mr. Creeper his ticket. "It's first class," he said, watching the man look over the ticket with a raised eyebrow.

"Now, move," he said slowly-almost threateningly—as if he was daring the man to question his orders again.

The creep looked at us one more time before he got up and quickly grabbed his bag.

"Go on, gorgeous," my new, mysterious neighbor said, gently pushing me to the window seat while following closely behind.

"Um, sorry about earlier," I muttered, tucking a piece of hair behind my ear and dropping my gaze. I wanted this guy to like me. "I rarely go around touching strangers like that, 1 promise."

I laughed nervously. When he didn't respond, I cleared my throat.

"Okay... So why did you give up your first-class ticket to sit all the way back here?"

My eyes met his, and his hand moved to cup my cheek.

"Because I wanted to be near you," he said huskily. He ran his thumb over my cheekbone as he examined every inch of my face. "Wow, how did I get so lucky?"

I leaned away from him, not sure of how to respond. I must've heard him wrong.

"Sorry, what did you say?"

He just smiled and shook his head. "Nothing. Don't worry about it, beautiful." He leaned toward me across the armest.

We were close for two strangers.

"I'm Grayson. What's your name?"

Almost as if I were in a daze, I heard myself say, "Belle."

His smile widened. "Belle," he said to himself. "My Belle."

His eyes were so pretty. I couldn't help but stare into them.

"Uh-huh...," I said absently.

He let out a wholehearted laugh.

Did I say something funny?

"Our bond is strong; I can tell," he said.

Is it just me, or does nothing he says make any sense?

"What? Our bond?" I asked.

He brushed a loose strand of hair from my face. "Don't you worry your little head about it."

I was once again snapped out of the daze he seemed to keep putting me in when a baby behind us let out a loud scream.

Realizing just how close I was to the man--Grayson--1 jumped back.

I'd been able to feel his breath on my face.

My cheeks immediately turned red, but before I could feel too embarrassed, he spoke.

"Mine. Mate," he said, his deep, husky voice ringing in my ears.

Turbulence

BELLE

"What did you just say?" I asked.

"So, business or pleasure?" Grayson asked.

Oh, right. I had almost completely forgotten where I was. I was hearing things. It must have been the stress. My nerves picked up again as I remembered that the plane would likely take off any minute.

"Oh, um, neither, I guess. I will visit my mother and her husband."

I must've been making a face because Grayson asked, "And you're not happy to see your mother and her husband?"

I shook my head.

"No, not since she left my sick father and me to run off to Paris and marry her rich lover," I heard myself saying.

I paused. I can't believe I just said that.

I had told no one about my mother, and now I'd just blabbed it to a complete stranger.

I looked at him. His expression was pensive.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that. I promise I'm not that crazy person on the plane who shares her entire life story with the stranger sitting next to her."

Grayson looked deeply into my eyes-almost as if he were searching for something and then he grabbed the armrest between us and lifted it so it was no longer a barrier. I watched his movements closely.

"Um... What are you doing?"

"Shh...," Grayson said. He grabbed my hips, which were already angled toward him, and tugged me so that my knees were touching his.

The delicious sparks trailed up and down my body again as his hand found its way under my shirt and onto the small of my back, where his thumb began making soothing circles.

I let out a breathy sound from the back of my throat. His other hand went up to cup my face.

"You don't have to worry about a thing now," Grayson whispered. "I'm going to take care of you."

He leaned down so that his lips were touching my ear. "You're mine."

I tilted back so I could see his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

He smirked. "I mean..." His thumb touched my lower lip, and I gasped.

"Everything" —he kissed my eyelid— "about" —he kissed my other eyelid-"you" —the top of my nose—"is mine."

Finally, his lips met mine.

My eyes fluttered shut at his kiss. The feeling was euphoric, like fireworks and explosions. My hands moved up to his huge, muscular shoulders and squeezed.

I let out a soft moan.

I felt him smirk against my lips, and I paused for a second.

No, no smirking. Smirking meant that he might stop kissing me, and I really didn't want that to happen.

Never taking my lips from his, I got up on my knees and pushed my chest into his, basking in the sparks that came wherever our bodies met.

My hands went up into his hair and tugged his face closer to mine.

He groaned approvingly.

Suddenly he squeezed my hips tightly, then lifted me onto his lap so that my knees went on either side of him.

I pushed my chest against his, and he deepened our kiss, plunging his tongue into my mouth.

His hands kneaded my hips and then slid up under my shirt to grip my waist, his thumbs touching the underwire of my bra.

Oh my God, is it getting hot in here?

Someone cleared their throat next to us, and it was like they'd flipped a switch in my brain: I suddenly realized what we were doing.

I jerked backward, but Grayson tightened his grip, keeping me firmly on his lap.

I looked at the flight attendant who was standing next to us.

"Sorry, miss, but I'm going to have to ask you to return to your seat and put on your seatbelt. The plane is about to take off."

I nodded my head quickly, feeling my face turn bright red.

I scrambled to get off Grayson's lap, and, thankfully, he let me go this time. I sat down in my seat and quickly buckled my seatbelt.

The flight attendant watched as Grayson put his on too, then she nodded and walked away.

Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God.

I placed my hands on my face to cool my burning cheeks.

I can't believe I just did that. What is wrong with me?

I was so embarrassed, I couldn't even bring myself to look at Grayson. I had crawled into his lap and pressed against him like some hooker begging for him to get into my panties.

"Hey, hey, hey," I heard Grayson say. "What's wrong?" He touched my arm.

I jerked my arm away, ignoring how much I wanted him to keep his hands on me.

"Don't touch me," I snapped.

Grayson made a startling growling noise in the back of his throat. I looked at him and saw an intense expression on his face. His jaw was clenched and his breathing was deep, his chest rising and falling quickly. And, oh yeah, his eyes were pitch black. The pupils, irises, and the whites of his eyes were all black.

I gasped and scrambled backward until my back hit the wall behind me.

"Oh my God. Your eyes."

His eyes widened and then snapped shut. He took a deep breath, and when his eyes opened again they were back to normal.

I was going insane. That was the only logical explanation.

The death of my father and the fear of seeing my mother again were finally getting to me.

"I'm sorry," he said. "It's just... You can't tell me not to touch you."

My heart started beating faster. Maybe he was the insane one. "What do you mean?"

He leaned forward, an intense look in his eyes.

"Oh, baby girl, have you forgotten already?" His hand clasped my knee and rubbed up and down my leg. "You're mine, remember?"

My blood boiled. That was the third time he had called me his property. Who did this guy think he was? Sure, he was good-looking. I had thrown myself at him and was extremely attracted to him, but that didn't mean I belonged to him. I was my own person. I belonged to no one.

I especially didn't belong to some man who I'd just met and who knew no personal boundaries. I opened my mouth to give him a piece of my mind, but stopped when I felt the plane suddenly move.

I must've completely missed the part where they explained where all the exits were and how to buckle your seatbelt. It was probably for the best though: that just would've only made me more nervous.

As the plane picked up speed, my heart beat hard against my ribs and my hands began shaking.

I grabbed hold of Grayson's hand that was still clamped onto my leg and squeezed my eyes shut.

I tried taking deep breaths to calm myself down, but they came out more like quick, gasping pants.

Oh my God... Am I hyperventilating?

"Belle," I heard Grayson say. "Belle, baby, what's wrong?"

I felt his hand come up to grip my shoulder.

I shook my head frantically, unable to find my voice. I was afraid that if I spoke, I would cry.

"Belle," Grayson's voice said to me. It came out calmer this time.

"Look at me, Belle. I need you to look at me, gorgeous. Let me see those beautiful blue eyes."

I just shook my head again. The plane jumped as it lifted off™ the ground. I let out a whimper and pushed myself further against the wall.

"Belle, I swear to God, if you don't look at me, I will kiss you again, and who knows where that will lead..."

Did he actually just say that? I was basically about to have a heart attack, and he was threatening to kiss me?

I opened my eyes. Grayson's face was about a foot away from mine. He smiled.

"There are those beautiful eyes."

My breathing slowed a bit. He was so unbelievably beautiful. How could someone possibly be so good-looking?

And charming, and sweet, and comforting, and such an amazing kisser...

The plane suddenly shook again-harder this time-and most of the passengers gasped.

The pilot's voice came over the cabin speakers to apologize for the turbulence, saying that the weather seemed more serious than was originally expected.

I glanced out my window and saw that it was pouring rain, and the sky was filled with lightning.

"Oh my God, this is how I'm going to die," I said. My entire body was trembling.

The plane shook again at the same moment that a crashing roar of thunder came from outside. I let out a terrified shriek as tears started pouring from my eyes.

"Belle, baby, come here," Grayson said in an agitated tone.

I looked at him and saw that he was holding out his arm, encouraging me to lean on him.

"What?" I asked shakily. "N-n-no!"

Something gripped my hand tighter. I looked down to see that I was holding his hand with both of mine. I quickly let go and pushed it away from me.

Why am I so touchy with this dude?

He ran a hand through his hair as he watched me panic. He looked pained. "Please, Belle, just let me help you."

I grasped at the wall behind me, hoping it would stabilize my shaking body. "How?"

Before I could get my answer, the plane was rocked by crashing loud thunder and a bright bolt of

lightning that I swore must have hit us. People screamed as bags fell from the overhead compartments.

I screamed bloody murder and covered my face with my hands.

"Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God," I sobbed. This was my worst nightmare.

"Belle," Grayson said. His voice was clearer than before, and suddenly all other noises faded away. "Look at me."

As if I was under his control, I removed my hands from my face and looked at Grayson. His eyes were black again.

But this time, it wasn't scary. This time, it was almost comforting.

"Come here," he said slowly.

I nodded my head and practically dove into his chest, going as far as my seatbelt would let me. I wrapped my arms around his torso and gripped his shirt in my fists.

He wrapped his arms around me, too, lifting my shirt so that his bare skin was touching my back and stomach.

"What are you doing?" I asked, shivering from the feeling of his skin against mine, and the delicious sparks traveling down my spine once more.

I felt him nuzzle my hair. "I'm sorry, I know this must be weird for you. It's just that the more skin-to-skin contact we have, the calmer you will feel."

He removed my arms from around him, and, for a moment, I felt disappointed. But then he lifted his shirt and put my arms back where they'd been.

I could feel his abs...

"See? Better, right? Touching me is helping." I felt him kiss the top of my head.

He was right. I could feel my heart rate slowing down and my nerves starting to calm. "How is this happening?" I asked. I was so overwhelmingly confused.

What is happening?

Before he could answer, there was another burst of thunder.

I whimpered and pushed my face into his chest as far as it would go. His arms tightened around me, and his hands massaged my back.

"Shh, baby girl. Relax for me," he whispered, his mouth touching my ear. I felt my shoulders slowly release their tension. His voice was so smooth, so comforting-it was like he had magical powers.

I would have done anything he told me to do as long as 1 got to keep hearing his voice.

"There we go. That's what I like to see."

More thunder shook the plane. I pressed my face deeper into his chest and gasped.

"Nuh-uh," he said. "None of that." His lips pressed to my ear, leaving a kiss.

"Pay attention to my voice. All you can hear is my voice, baby." He trailed kisses down my neck.

He was right. Once again, the other noises faded away. The crying babies, the yelling passengers, the roaring thunder, the pounding rain-everything else went silent.

All that was left was him and me.

"The only thing you can hear is my voice. Isn't that right?"

I nodded my head.

"Good. Now, slow your breathing."

My breathing went from quick, gasping breaths to slow, deep sighs.

"Good girl." His lips continued to move along my neck.

"Don't be scared. I've got you. I'll take care of you."

His kisses felt like magic. His voice was like magic.

Everything about him was magic. I wasn't on a plane anymore. I wasn't anywhere anymore.

It was just me and Grayson—his arms around me, his lips on my skin. I was calm. And then his lips found a spot on my neck that made fire travel throughout my body. I gasped.

Grayson smiled against my skin. "Hmm..." He began sucking on the spot, his tongue running over my skin, leaving tingles that went to my toes.

His fingers were digging into my waist, and I felt something building up inside me—a feeling that I hadn't had in a long time. My entire body shuddered, and I tilted my head to the side to give him better access. His deep chuckle vibrated through my body.

"Hmm... Like that, do we?" he whispered against my skin.

Everything was moving so slowly. I let out a deep breath that sounded more like a whine because he had stopped kissing me. I didn't know exactly what I wanted, but I needed something more-something I knew Grayson could provide.

I tilted my head some more, hoping he would keep kissing me.

He sighed. "I know, beautiful, I know. But not here. Not now." He placed one more peck on the spot. "But I promise, I will make you mine. Soon."

I didn't understand what he meant. So I just moved closer to him, breathing in his heavenly scent.

What kind of cologne does he use?

"That's right," he said. "I'm here and you're safe. Nothing bad will ever happen to you again.

We're going to create the most amazing life together. I'm never letting you go."

What did he just say?

"But for now," he said, "you need to rest."

I looked up at him. His eyes were still black.

"Sleep."

And my world went dark.

Kiss of the Possessed

BELLE

I woke up to the feeling of being moved. I was vaguely aware of the fact that someone was unbuckling my seatbelt and then picking me up. I opened my eyes.

Grayson had placed me on his lap so that my knees fell on either side of him.

He set my head against his chest and wrapped his arms around me again.

I suddenly remembered that I was on a plane, and my heart rate picked up. How long have I been asleep for? I tried to lean back to look at him, but he just tightened his hold on me.

"Nuh-uh. Not so fast. You're not going anywhere," Grayson said calmly. He kissed my forehead.

"Go back to sleep, Belle."

And yet again, I was out like a light.

I dreamed of hands moving up and down my back and waist, playing with my hair, kneading my hips. I dreamed of sweet kisses being left on my ear, my nose, my forehead.

I dreamed of touching fireworks and then watching them travel up and down my body, finally exploding in my chest, leaving a warm glow around my heart.

But mostly, I dreamed of his forest-green eyes.

When I woke up for the second time, the only thing I was aware of was how warm and at peace I felt.

Everything felt so...right.

I buried myself deeper into the warmth and focused on the small firework that kept traveling up and down my back. It felt amazing. I let out a deep sigh.

Then suddenly my sigh was echoed by someone else, and I felt a kiss on my forehead. My eyes opened. Where am I?

I looked above me and saw Grayson. He had one arm around me, a hand running up and down my back and playing with my hair. The other hand was holding out a cell phone, texting someone.

His face was scrunched together as he concentrated. Oh my God. I was in his lap.

My back straightened, and his eyes suddenly snapped to mine. He smiled.

"Morning, beautiful."

He really has a thing for pet names.

I scrambled to move away from him and he gripped my hips.

"Where do you think you're going?" he said.

I seemed to recall him putting me in his lap. I glared at him.

"Why am I in your lap?"

He shrugged. "You kept moving toward me in your sleep. trying to put your face in my neck, and whimpering. So. when the seatbelt sign turned off, I moved you to where you wanted to be."

I felt the blood drain from my face as I pictured myself crawling toward him in my sleep; it then immediately rushed back up into my cheeks as I remembered his lips on my neck.

Sensing where my thoughts were going, he said, "Not that I minded."

He smirked.

Smirked!

I scoffed and tried to shove his hands off me so I could return to my seat.

"You can stay here. Really, it's fine," he said.

"No, really, it's not," I said, finally escaping his vicelike grip. I let out a sigh of relief as I slid back into my own seat. I was beyond embarrassed.

Why do I have to be so weird in front of the first guy I've been attracted to in years?

"I'm sorry. I usually have personal boundaries. I don't know what's wrong with me today."

He just waved it off, saying that it was no big deal.

"How long was I asleep for?"

He looked at his watch. "About eight hours."

I gasped. "I was asleep for eight hours?"

He nodded, a smile appearing on his face.

"You let me sleep on you for eight hours?" I asked, completely and utterly mortified.

He nodded again.

"Oh my God." I put my hands on my face.

"If it helps," he said, "I fell asleep too for a while. It was the best sleep of my life."

I looked at his smirking face and narrowed my eyes.

"You know, when you changed seats with the guy who was supposed to be next to me, I was actually relieved.

"But maybe it would've been better to sit next to the creepy guy who stared at my boobs. Maybe I wouldn't have crawled into his lap in my sleep."

It was supposed to be a lighthearted joke, but when I looked at Grayson, I could tell that he did not take it that way. His eyes were back to black, his jaw was clenched, and there were veins popping out of his neck and forehead. He looked murderous.

"Oh my God. Are you okay?"

He didn't respond. Instead, he closed his eyes, gripped the sides of his chair roughly, and breathed deeply. I started to feel worried. I wasn't sure what was happening, but for some reason,

I wanted Grayson to be okay. I wanted to comfort him.

"Can I do anything?"

He said nothing.

"Grayson?" I tried again.

When I said his name, his eyes snapped to mine, their blackness startling me. A rumble came from deep within his chest as he grabbed the back of my neck and brought my face to his.

He pressed his nose into my neck and began breathing deeply. His entire body was shaking.

"I love it when you say my name," he said. His voice sounded deeper now, rougher-nothing like how tender it had sounded earlier.

He leaned back and looked deep into my eyes. I knew that I should be frightened by how black his eyes were. I mean, he looked possessed.

But somehow I liked his black eyes almost as much as his green ones.

"Stay here," he said darkly. "Don't move."

I nodded, not wanting to go against his orders when he looked so deadly.

I watched him get up and make his way to the front of the plane and through the small doorway that led to the first-class section.

I reclined in my seat. Maybe he just has to go to the bathroom...

But then I heard people screaming, and the flight attendant ran up the aisle. Passengers were getting out of their seats. I jumped up and ran to the first-class section, wanting to see what all the commotion was.

When I entered it, the scene in front of me made my heart stop.

Grayson was holding Mr. Creeper up in the air by his neck.

Is he trying to kill him? There were people surrounding him, trying to get his attention, pulling on him to get him to stop strangling the creep.

But Grayson wasn't moving. He was like a statue.

He was trying to kill him.

Grayson's grip on Mr. Creeper's neck was tightening more and more with every passing second.

Out of everyone pleading with him to stop, one man was the most persistent.

He was yelling, "Alpha! Alpha! Stop! You will kill him!"

Grayson paid no attention to him, and just squeezed the creep's neck harder. I pushed through the throng of people, making my way to where he was.

"Grayson!" I yelled when I finally reached him. I stood directly in front of him, trying to get his attention. "What are you doing?"

His eyes met mine, and I took a step back. He was terrifying.

His neck had grown two sizes, and veins ran up over his face and around his black eyes.

Fangs stuck out from beneath his lips, and foam gathered around his snarling mouth.

"Mate, move," he said to me, his expression leaving no room for argument.

Gladly.

I took several steps backward, scared out of my mind, then a hand grabbed my wrist and pulled me back closer to the doorway. I spun around in surprise. It was the man who had called

Grayson "Alpha" earlier.

"You're his mate?" he asked me frantically.

I didn't know what he meant. "What? No!" I said, trying to escape his grip. He didn't let me go.

But then I vaguely remembered Grayson calling me that earlier.

"I don't know!" I yelled.

He lifted his nose and sniffed the air.

What the hell?

"You're human," he concluded. "But you smell of the alpha."

"What?" I screeched.

"Look, there's no time to explain. If you don't calm him down, then he will kill that man."

I looked back at Grayson and saw him still strangling Mr. Creeper, whose face was now turning purple as he gasped for air and scratched at Grayson's hand.

"Calm him down? How am I supposed to calm him down?

He's strangling someone!" I yelled.

"Touch him, talk to him, anything! Just get him to stop!"

I looked at the man in front of me. His expression was pure panic.

"Touch him?" I asked. I could do that. I could touch him.

Hell, I'd been touching him the entire flight.

The man nodded encouragingly and tugged me back to where Grayson was.

The choking man's movements were slowing, his head beginning to fall to one side. Shit... I have to do something.

I took a deep breath and then raised a shaky hand and placed it on Grayson's shoulder.

"Grayson?" I asked. His head snapped to look at me. I swallowed. "Please stop. You're hurting him."

He growled—like really growled. "No." His gaze turned back to the creep.

Well... that didn't work.

I turned to the man behind me.

"Keep trying!" he yelled.

I whimpered, then stepped in front of Grayson and put my hands on either side of his livid face,

forcing him to look at me.

"Grayson, stop now. You're scaring me."

That made him pause. His eyes softened a bit. His grip must've loosened because I suddenly heard frantic gasps of air.

I'm doing it! It's working!

But then his expression hardened.

"Mate, move, or I will move you. I am dealing with the threat. I am protecting you."

His voice was deadly.

I took a step back and turned to the man who had gotten me into this mess.

I could be back in my nice, cozy seat, by myself, not dealing with any of this. But no! Instead, I had to touch the livid demon man. Talk to the psychotic man strangling someone!

"What now?" I asked him.

"Kiss him!" he yelled.

"What?" I screeched. "No! I am not doing that!"

"I know this is scary, but we have no other option! Either you kiss him, or that man dies. It's up to you."

This made absolutely no sense. Why would kissing Grayson do any good? I looked at the man he was holding. Mr. Creeper had gone almost limp, with only his feet jerking the tiniest bit. Grayson was about to finish the job.

I had to do something.

"Fuck it," I said. I grabbed Grayson's face and smashed my lips into his.

At first, he didn't respond. It was like kissing a very warm, very smooshy statue.

But then he muttered something against my lips: "Mate."

Grayson pulled my body into his and drove his tongue into my mouth, claiming dominance over mine immediately.

He traced the curves of my body with his massive fingers, and I heard Mr. Creeper drop. I was vaguely aware of gasping and spluttering and then Grayson grabbed hold of my ass and lifted me into his arms. Then he wrapped my legs around his waist and carried me back out of first class.

No, no, no, no! This was not what I wanted. I had thought this would be a quick peck on the lips.

I'd thought I would stop him from choking the creep, and then I'd sprint away for dear life.

I hadn't thought he'd carry me away to my imminent doom.

I removed my lips from his, hoping that he'd stop and put me down, but he just growled and started kissing down my neck, still walking to Lord knows where.

"Grayson, what are you doing? Put me down!" I said, pushing on his shoulders.

Man, is this guy made of steel or something?

He didn't even pause.

"Mate. Mine," he said, and continued his open-mouthed kisses along my jaw.

I glanced back over his shoulder at the 'helpful' man from before. He was just standing there beside the doorway leading to first class, watching us as people crowded around the creep who'd nearly died.

"Help!" I yelled at him.

He just shrugged and gave me a look that said, What do you want me to do about it?

I wanted to scream.

What the hell was even happening? I'd mentally prepared myself for a long, uncomfortable flight.

This was so far beyond that...

Grayson carried me into the bathroom of the plane and quickly set me down on the tiny sink. He positioned himself between my legs and gripped my hips.

"Grayson, what—"

His lips were suddenly back on mine.

And, oh my Lord, did it feel good.

Pleasure of Pain

BELLE

There was something about Grayson that made me lose all control of myself whenever he touched me. I mean, he'd nearly just killed a man, and there I was making out with him in a bathroom.

He pulled my lower lip into his mouth and sucked. I moaned loudly.

"Grayson," I whimpered.

He groaned. "Keep saying my name like that, baby."

He brought my earlobe into his mouth and bit down softly, then moved his lips down to my neck to suck, leaving several hickeys behind.

He ground his hips against mine, hitting me in just the right spot, and I gasped, my head falling back against the mirror behind me.

I saw stars—real stars.

"Grayson!" I yelled.

How could he make me feel so good without even taking off a single article of clothing? This man had to be some sort of sex god.

There were people pounding on the door, probably worried about me being alone with the psychotic man who had nearly killed someone...

But we were both too wrapped up in our euphoric feelings to pay attention to anything else.

His lips found the spot on my neck he'd been kissing earlier, and my body had a literal convulsion as he sucked on it and licked it.

I ground my core into his hips as if I were some animal in heat—

Until blinding-hot pain shot through my system as his teeth suddenly plunged into my neck.

I screamed and tried to shove him away from me, but his arms only held me tighter to his torso.

Right as I thought I would pass out from the pain, it turned into something else.

Warm pleasure ran through me, and I let out a sigh of relief and then a moan.

Wow, this is the best thing I've felt in my entire life.

I was overcome by the sudden need to be closer to Grayson and to never let him leave me, even though his teeth were still lodged in my neck.

I ran my hands up his chest, to his shoulders, and then around his neck.

I pulled his chest into mine and wrapped my legs around his hips. My forehead rested on his shoulder.

Grayson slowly retracted his teeth from my neck, licking the wound he had just made, and ran his hand up and down my back.

I shuddered. His touch was feeling ten times better than before.

Is that even possible?

I leaned back to look at him. His eyes weren't black anymore.

"You bit me," I said. My eyelids were drooping, all the energy starting to leave my body.

Grayson nodded. His expression looked pained.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I had to."

I nodded my head as if I understood, but really, I had no fucking clue what was going on. I felt drunk.

"That's okay," I slurred out, patting his cheek lightly. "Just don't do it again, okay?"

He smiled. "Okay."

I smiled back. I touched his face with both of my hands, squishing his cheeks together.

"Wow, you're pretty. Like really pretty..."

He laughed. The sound made me happy.

"Thank you. I'm glad you think so," he said.

I giggled. "I'm glad you're glad I think so because I really think so." I smiled at him.

My head dropped onto his neck.

I decided I wanted to keep kissing him. I pressed my lips to his neck, trying to move them the same way that he had against mine.

He groaned deeply.

"No. No, stop, baby girl. No more kissing today." He moved me away from him.I pouted. "Why not?"

He smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear, then ran his thumb over my cheekbone. "Trust me, there will be plenty of kissing later. You need sleep."

I yawned at the thought. Sleep. Sleep sounded good. Not as good as kissing, but close. I nodded and leaned my head against his shoulder again.

"Okay," I said, nuzzling into his neck. "We can kiss when I wake up?"

He laughed again. "We can kiss as much as you want when you wake up."

The thought made me happy, and I sighed. Okay, then.

He tightened his arms around me and rubbed his nose right where he'd just bit me. I shivered.

Huh. That felt good.

"Go to sleep, Belle. I've got you."

My vision began to fade, a random jumble of images flashing through my mind.

Grayson's monstrous strength.

His irresistible touch.

The feeling of his teeth sinking into my neck.

His beautiful eyes that sometimes turned into a pureblack, bottomless pit.

I could only think of one thing as sleep overcame me.

What have I gotten myself into?

Moonlit Awakening

BELLE

When I woke up again, everything was dark.

The only light that I could see was coming out of what I assumed to be a window behind me, casting moonlight throughout the room.

Where am I?

For a second, I thought I was back in my room at home, and I let out a sigh and shifted, nuzzling back into my pillow.

But then I paused. Whatever I was lying on was not a pillow.

It was hard and warm and moving up and down. I lifted my head to get a better look.

I was lying on the chest of a very, very muscular sleeping man.

I looked at his face.

Oh my God. It was Grayson.

Everything that had happened in the last day suddenly came flooding back to me: the plane, his eyes, him strangling someone.

My hand flew up to touch my neck, and I whimpered when I felt a tender wound.

He bit me!

Grayson stirred in his sleep, and I panicked for a moment.

Had I woken him up? Then he yanked me back to his chest and tightened his arms around me: He pressed his nose to my hair and let out a satisfied grumble.

I held my breath, waiting for more movement, but none came. He was still asleep.

Thank God.

I panicked for a second, wondering why I was alone in a room with him sleeping. I remembered nothing about how I had gotten there.

Oh God, did I sleep with him?

I quickly felt for my clothes and let out a sigh of relief when I saw that I was still in the leggings and T-shirt that I'd been wearing on the plane. Grayson, however, was only in a pair of boxers.

I felt my face heat up. Why wasn't he wearing any clothes?

I looked around the room. This was definitely not my bedroom back home. From what I could see in the dark, I was in a hotel room—a really nice hotel room.

It was huge, and the bed I was on had to be bigger than king-size.

I noticed my luggage in the corner. Okay, that was good. I still had all of my clothes. I stretched my neck to see out the window. Lots of lights seemed to be coming from below—I was definitely in a city.

But what city?

Was I in Paris or had this sociopath taken me somewhere else?

I exhaled deeply when I saw something out the window. It was far in the distance, barely visible, but it was there: The Eiffel Tower.

I was in a hotel in Paris with a man I had met on a plane who seemed to have kidnapped me.

This was not good.

I looked back at Grayson. Obviously, I had to get away from him. There was no doubt in my mind that he was insane.

But how?

My legs were tangled together with his, and his arms were wrapped tightly around me.

Could I escape without waking him up?

I tried moving my legs first, slowly untangling them from his. I looked back at his face. He didn't move.

Success! Okay, I can do this.

I slowly grabbed one of his arms and pried it away from my waist. Grayson mumbled something incoherent. My eyes shot up to him. A frown had formed on his face, but it didn't seem like he had woken up.

I waited a few minutes for his face to return to normal before I moved again, then I finally removed his other arm and placed it beside him on the bed.

My body felt cold now that I wasn't wrapped in his embrace, but I ignored it.

I slowly and quietly began to scooch my body away from his, then I crawled to the edge of the enormous bed and twisted around till my feet touched the cold floor.

I was free!

But I didn't have time to celebrate. I had to find a phone or a way out of there before Grayson woke up. I scanned the room for a phone, but there was none in sight.

Okay, so my only option was to leave and make a mad dash to the nearest other human being and ask for help. I tiptoed to the door closest to me, cringing every time the hardwood floor squeaked.

Right as I was about to put my hand on the handle, a voice spoke:

"Belle."

I jumped and let out a terrified shriek. I quickly turned around and saw Grayson lying on his side in the bed, his head propped up by his hand as he watched me, an amused look on his face.

"Come back to bed," came his husky voice. It sent shivers down my spine. "It's too early in the morning, and I'm exhausted."

He rolled onto his back and draped his arm over his eyes, sighing. His chest began to rise and fall rhythmically.

Had he gone back to sleep? I turned back to the door and pressed down on the handle.

"That's a closet, baby doll," his voice said.

I glanced over my shoulder at him. He was still lying on his back, not looking at me.

I opened the door and peered inside. He was right. This was a closet.

I raced to the door on the other side of the room and yanked it open. But before I could sprint out,

I heard Grayson speak again.

"Belle, please come back to bed. I know you're freaked out, but I promise I'll explain everything to you later. I have no energy to deal with this after almost shifting and then marking you."

I had no clue what he was talking about. Shifting?

Marking? He was now looking at me with a lazy, annoyed expression, as if I was greatly inconveniencing him.

I was inconveniencing him?

He had kidnapped me! I was scared out of my mind, and he was just lying there, trying to get his beauty sleep!?

Screw talking to him later! Screw talking to him ever again!

I turned back to the door, ready to run out, but his voice stopped me once again.

"Belle, if you leave this room, you will start to feel sick and dizzy. You can't be away from me so soon after marking. I bet that bite mark on your neck is already starting to hurt, isn't it?"

I hadn't noticed it before, but now that he mentioned it, the wound was throbbing— almost as if it had its own heartbeat.

I touched the mark on my neck and whimpered as it began to ache in searing pain.

Grayson sat up, watching my indecisiveness as I continued to glance between him and the door.

I instinctively took a step in his direction, immediately feeling the pain ease up just a little. Weird...

"See, I know what I'm talking about, don't I? I know it hurts, baby, but come back to bed, and I can make all the pain go away. I'll take care of you."

It was like I was underneath some kind of spell. Without thinking I took a few steps forward, and suddenly my back was pressed to the silk sheets, and Grayson's delicious body was on top of me.

I licked my lips.

Wait, did I just call his body delicious?

It felt like my body was on fire. My gaze dripped down his rugged jawline, his broad shoulders, his muscular chest, his perfect abs that led down a sensual V down to his...

Oh my God, Belle! Get it together!

I tried to shake my head clear, but suddenly his fingers were trailing up my thighs and I forgot my own name.

"Relax, beautiful." His husky voice sent shivers down my spine. "I'm going to take you to heaven."

Flames of Desire

BELLE

Grayson leaned down, pressing his weight into me.

I felt helpless underneath him, trapped...but in a good way.

A part of me wanted to submit, to surrender myself to this god of a man.

His finger trailed up my inner thigh, his lips dragging down my collarbone.

"Grayson.." I whispered, breath ragged with desire.

The shrill ring of a cell phone interrupted us and a deep growl emanated from him, his eyes never leaving mine.

"Give me a moment, love," Grayson said, clearly annoyed.

He stood up and walked toward the dresser, giving me a moment to breathe.

My heart was trying to pound itself out of my chest.

Was I seriously about to sleep with a man that just kidnapped me?

I had to get out of here. Heck, I had to call the police!

Grayson had his back turned to me, staring down at his phone.

Now or never.

I stood up and dashed for the door, running as fast as I could.

I heard a loud, annoyed groan behind me as I ran down the hallway. I assumed the sound came from him. At the end of the hall, I came to a staircase and rushed down it, bracing myself against the wall to keep from falling because of my shaky legs.

When I reached the bottom, I expected to find another floor of hotel rooms, but was surprised to find myself in the middle of a luxurious open living room, with a huge kitchen just off to the side.

This hotel room has two floors?

What kind of hotel is this?

I frantically looked around for anything that could help me.

"Luna? What are you doing? Where's the alpha?" someone called from another room.

There was a man standing at the kitchen counter. He was holding a cup of coffee and looking at me as if I were insane.

I recognized him! He had been on the plane! He was the one who had told me to kiss Grayson!

"Oh, thank God!" I yelled, rushing over to the kitchen.

"You—" The room suddenly began to spin, and the bite on my neck throbbed and burned painfully. I shook my head to clear my muggy thoughts.

"Help me! That man kidnapped me! I need to call 911!"

He stood and approached me slowly, like I was a wild animal that would bolt if he made any sudden movements.

"Hey, hey. You're okay. He didn't kidnap---"

His words stopped and his eyes suddenly turned a gray color. He stared off into space, almost as if he were in a trance. I backed away from him, startled.

"Yes. Yes, she is," he said.

"What?" I asked. Is he talking to me?

He didn't pay any attention to me. He just kept staring at nothing.

"Of course, Alpha," he said. His eyes went back to normal, and he looked at me. "T'm sorry, but you can't leave."

Okay, so he's crazy too. Noted.

I turned around and scanned the room for a way out. There was a door on the other side of the kitchen. The front door, from the look of it. Yes!

I rushed past Grayson's crazy friend and tried to make my way to it, but stumbled over my feet. I braced myself against the wall next to me.

The burning sensation from the bite on my neck was traveling down my body in slow, torturous waves. My stomach churned.

It felt like I was going to vomit.

What the hell is happening? Was this what Grayson had been talking about when he said I would start feeling sick?

I tried to push through the pain as I continued to struggle toward the door. But the world was spinning too fast and my knees were feeling too weak, and I fell to the ground.

"Luna!" the man shouted behind me.

Tears were running down my face; the fire inside me was too much to handle. I screamed.

"Make it stop!" I shouted. "Make it stop!"

"I'm sorry, Luna! The alpha will be here soon!" The man next to me said. He touched my shoulder, but it only seemed to stoke the flames moving through my body.

I shoved his hand away from me. "Don't touch me!" I sobbed, folding in on myself.

"Alpha, please hurry!" the man shouted.

Through my sobs I could hear quick footsteps entering the room.

"Belle!" Grayson shouted.

Just his voice made the fire die down a bit, and I reached for him, desperate for the pain to go away. He sprinted across the kitchen and shoved the other man away from me.

I felt a twinge of disappointment when I noticed that Grayson was wearing sweatpants now instead of boxers. I wanted as much soothing skin-to-skin contact as I could get.

At least he's still shirtless.

Once he reached me, he immediately scooped me up in his arms.

I wrapped myself around him like a sloth to a tree, making it so as much of me was touching him as possible.

I had my legs on either side of him, my arms tightly around his neck. Thankfully, the fire died down as I sobbed into his chest, but the pain was still almost unbearable.

"Shh," Grayson said, sitting down in a nearby chair with me still wrapped around him. "I know, baby, I know."

"Please make it stop," I begged.

Grayson suddenly latched on to my bite mark and sucked on it, running his tongue over it.

I moaned loudly. Not only did it feel amazing, but it also made all of my pain go away.

Still shaking from the trauma, I clung onto Grayson for dear life as his skillful mouth kept working at my neck.

I was so enraptured in the incredible sensation that I barely even registered when his friend eventually muttered something and left the room. I thought that once the pain went away, he would stop kissing me, but he didn't. He just kept going, moving up my neck to my jaw, until he finally reached my mouth.

His lips felt like silk against mine.

The kiss was sweet and slow, but I could feel hunger brimming inside of it. It was passionate. I had kissed no one like this. I had never felt like this before.

Grayson pulled away briefly, then placed his forehead against mine. Both of us were breathing deeply. He pecked my lips one more time.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. He rubbed his nose against mine.

I looked deep into his eyes.

"I didn't realize that our bond was so strong. I thought I would just let you walk around for a bit, get more comfortable, and then come find you. I didn't know your pain would be that bad. I'm so sorry." He kissed me again.

"I never want you to be in pain."

"It happened because I was away from you?" I asked.

He nodded and buried his face in my hair, breathing in deeply. We stayed like that for a while, just holding each other, my body still calming down.

I had given up trying to understand anything that was going on.

I was mentally exhausted, unable to process any of the information being thrown my way.

The most confusing part of all of this was how attracted I was to Grayson. I had seen him strangle that creep on the plane; I was aware of the fact that he had kidnapped me; I knew how touchy he was.

But for some reason, when he was nearby, I wanted to be closer to him, to keep touching him and talking to him.

I actually wanted to get to know my kidnapper.

There had to be something wrong with me. Why am I so obsessed with him?

Grayson's hands gripped my waist and ran up and down my sides. He leaned back to look at me. "Will you come back to the damn bed now?"

I knew I should say no. But I just didn't want to. It was as simple as that. I didn't want to say no.

So I said yes.

Grayson smiled and kissed my lips once more. He moved his hands under my butt and stood up, still holding me in his arms.

God he's strong.

"You can put me down," I said as he walked us toward the room we'd originally woken up in. "I can walk."

He leaned down so his mouth was touching my ear. "I don't care."

Well then.

He entered the room and gently set me down in the middle of the bed. I frowned when he stopped touching me. He stood back and took off his sweatpants.

I watched his muscles ripple with his movement.

I swallowed. "What are you doing?"

He smirked. "I don't want to get hot while we're sleeping."

He slowly made his way toward me while maintaining intense eye contact. He put his hands on my shoulders and pushed me onto my back. Then he crawled on top of me.

"You smell far too good," he said, running his nose up and down my neck.

I couldn't respond. I was too overwhelmed.

He left a quick kiss on my lips and then looked at me.

"Let's go to sleep, hmm?"

I nodded.

He lay down next to me so he was facing me and put his hand on my waist. His eyes searched my face. "You're so beautiful."

I looked away from him, not knowing how to respond. I felt his hand move under my shirt and up my back, where he started messing with the clasp of my bra.

I immediately grabbed his arm and looked at him.

"What are you doing?"

"Shh," he said and unclasped my bra. "It can't be comfortable."

Never taking his eyes from mine, he guided my arms out of my sleeves, inside my shirt, encouraging me to slip out of my bra.

I slid my arms through the straps, and Grayson slowly reached under my shirt and grabbed the offending article of clothing, pulling it out and tossing it onto the floor.

He watched me slip my arms back through my sleeves and pull my shirt down.

"See? That's better," he said. And then he turned my body so I was facing away from him.

He tugged me back to his chest and spooned me, wrapping an arm around my waist and rubbing my stomach.

"Slow your heart rate, Belle. It's going a mile a minute.

Take some deep breaths."

He was right. My anxiety was through the roof. I tried breathing in deeply.

"There we go." Grayson kissed the back of my neck.

"That's my girl."

I couldn't believe how exhausted I was. I felt like all I had done for the past day was sleep, and yet I still felt myself slowly drifting away. I had no idea how long I'd been asleep for the next time I woke up. All I knew was that I was burning up. I was unbelievably hot.

Still half asleep, I threw the blanket off of me and squirmed.

It did nothing.

Grayson's body wrapped around me wasn't helping either. I readjusted my legs, trying to get more comfortable.

My leggings felt like fire against my skin.

Grayson stirred behind me, then I felt his hand reach into my leggings and tug them down.

My eyes still half hooded, I put my hand over his and mumbled something incoherent, trying to ask what he was doing.

"Just take them off, baby. I promise I won't look. You're burning up."

I was really hot and still exhausted. All I wanted to do was nuzzle into Grayson's chest again and go back to sleep. I nodded.

I felt Grayson sit up and perch above me so that his knees were on either side of me.

He hooked his thumbs into the sides of my leggings and tugged them down. I wiggled around so he could move them over my butt.

When they were finally off, Grayson threw them onto the floor.

I was hugely relieved when the cool air hit my legs. He lay back down next to me and brought me to his chest. I hooked a leg around him and buried my face into his neck.

Grayson let out an appreciative rumble. His hand moved under my shirt and onto the small of my

back.

The last thing I thought before I fell asleep was, I think he lied when he said he wouldn't look.

Life in Captivity

BELLE

I woke up before Grayson did, and I had no clue what to do. I could feel his breath against the back of my neck, slow and steady. I thought of my mom and wondered if she was worried after I hadn't shown up at her apartment last night.

Maybe she would call the police and they'd come looking for me.

But there was a large chance that she hadn't even noticed I wasn't there—or just assumed that I hadn't come out of anger. That sounded like something I would do. So it would be smart not to rely on her trying to find me.

I was on my own. I had to find my way out of here. But how?

I could try to run away again, but the memory of the pain that I'd experienced earlier this morning went through my mind. There was no way I was doing that again.

So I had some options: I could completely give up— just lie there and wait for Grayson to wake up, and let him have his way with me.

Why does that sound like a good option?

I could wait for Grayson to wake up, then pretend to still be asleep till he hopefully left the room, then try to find my way out.

I could act sweet and like I trusted him, and then pull a sneak attack and try to knock him out with a lamp or something, and then run away.

I could be really, horribly mean to him and hope that he got sick of me and kicked me to the curb.

That could work, right?

I could hope that my mom actually did care about my absence enough to call the police.

It's unlikely but it could happen.

It suddenly occurred to me that it was Christmas Eve. I was supposed to be with my family celebrating Christmas in Paris, enjoying life for the first time since my dad had died.

My dad. God I missed him.

If I had known last year that it was the last Christmas that I would spend with him, I wouldn't have taken it for granted.

We'd always had the best Christmases together.

Since I wasn't in touch with any of my grandparents on either side of my family, it had always been just the two of us. We would watch Christmas movies and eat until we couldn't eat anymore.

We'd exchange presents, sing Christmas carols, decorate the tree, and enjoy each other's company.

It had always been my favorite day of the year: no worries, just me and my dad on Christmas.

I felt tears well up in my eyes and I sniffled, trying to get them to stop.

Now was not the time to feel sorry for myself. I had to figure out how to get out of this hotel suite, which was starting to feel more like a prison. I didn't even care about seeing my mom for

Christmas anymore, I just wanted to go home.

I have a life to live!

Yes, my dad was dead. And that was unbelievably devastating, and I missed him every single day. But just because he was dead didn't mean that I was.

I was alive.

And there was no longer anything stopping me from living.

I no longer had anyone to take care of besides myself.

I could go to college. I could make friends.

I could go out dancing and drinking at bars and meet boys and make bad decisions and get a new apartment and a cat and a fancy job. There was nothing stopping me.

Okay, so there was one thing stopping me. And that thing was breathing on my neck and had its arms wrapped around me and was unbelievably good-looking.

That thing was the huge man behind me who had kidnapped me and claimed that I now belonged to him.

God, what's wrong with me?

I thought about last night and how I had basically just let Grayson do whatever he wanted with me. I had just fallen into his arms and given up. I had spent too much of my life giving up, feeling powerless and alone, letting life just have its horrible way with me. No more. I was going to live my life.

And nothing and nobody would stop me.

I felt Grayson move behind me. Oh God, he's waking up.

I immediately closed my eyes, pretending to be asleep.

Hopefully he would just leave and I could jump out the window or something.

It was time to leave.

Morning Games

BELLE

Grayson's arm tightened around me, then he slowly moved and pressed his lips to my ear.

"Good morning, baby," he whispered.

He brought my earlobe into his mouth and bit down softly. It felt incredible, but I didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. Do not move, Belle. Do not make a sound. You're sleeping, remember?

"Hmm... I know you're awake, Belle." He kissed my neck.

He's lying. He doesn't know that. How could he know that?

"We're playing pretend, are we? Okay, let's play."

What? What the hell does he mean by that?

I wasn't in the mood for games. Well, I didn't want to be in the mood, but I also couldn't deny the heat starting to build between my thighs...

I felt him move so that he was on top of me. I instinctively spread my legs just a little so he could put his body between them.

Grayson chuckled.

Shit, did he notice me do that? He did, didn't he?

I tried to keep my body limp and my breathing regular. No matter what Grayson does, no matter how much I like it, I'm asleep.

One of his hands grabbed onto my waist and then ran over my stomach. Then he slowly leaned down and brought his lips to mine.

This isn't fair! His lips felt too good against mine-like fireworks. I wanted to scream, or kiss him back, but I couldn't. I was trying to prove a point. I would not make out with my kidnapper!

No matter how much I want to.

Don't move, Belle.

But as he continued to press his soft lips into mine, I couldn't help but open my mouth just the tiniest bit, inviting him inside. I felt his deep rumble of laughter. Even with my eyes closed, I knew that he was smirking. Shit. Fuck.

Shitting, fucking hell.

I kept my eyes closed. What is wrong with me?

Why can't I control myself?

He leaned down and whispered against my ear: "I like this game."

He kissed along my jaw and gripped my waist harder, bringing his hand up so that his thumb was brushing underneath my breast. I squirmed a bit.

"Just open your eyes, Belle."

I didn't move.

"No?" he asked.

I didn't respond. Maybe he'll give up?

Oh, please just give up. I didn't know how much longer I could hold out. I was two seconds away from shoving my tongue down his throat.

"Okay. Have it your way."

He began trailing open-mouthed kisses along my jaw again.

Shit. So he isn't giving up.

His lips continued moving down my neck as his hands massaged my waist through my T-shirt. For a second, I wished I wasn't wearing one. And then Grayson found the spot where he had bitten me. I gasped and my back arched so that my chest was touching his.

God, that spot was like a second G-spot.

I moaned but still kept my eyes closed.

"Uh-huh. That's what I thought," he said. He licked up the side of my neck, and I squirmed. He moved back a bit.

"We're still not going to open our eyes?"

I was just being stubborn. We both knew I was awake. But I would not let him win this battle. I would not lose.

I would not open my eyes. So I shook my head.

He chuckled. "Huh, my mate is stubborn." He pressed one of his knees up against my crotch. I could feel his breath on my face.

"That's fine with me," he whispered.

His mouth latched on to my neck once more, and I moaned again. He kissed down to my collarbone and then ran his nose up and down between my breasts.

I arched my back again, breathless.

He lifted my shirt a bit and kissed around my belly button.

Is it getting hot in here or is it just me?

Then his hand went beneath my panties and gripped my hip bone.

Wait, what? My panties? What happened to my leggings?

I suddenly remembered Grayson taking them off last night.

Hadn't he taken off my bra too?

So that meant... I was lying in bed, braless, wearing only my white see-through T-shirt and my blue lace thong.

That was it.

And the man who'd kidnapped me had one hand under that same blue lace thong with the other on my rib cage under my breast as his mouth traveled closer and closer to, ahem, a very personal area.

My eyes flew open.

I screamed and began kicking my legs at Grayson.

Hopefully, I hit him in the face.

Hopefully, I broke his nose.

I shoved his hands away from me and jumped out of the bed.

I ran my hands through my hair and began pacing back and forth. I definitely did not win that battle.

Dammit.

I looked at Grayson. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, leaning back on his arms, and watching me, an amused look in his eyes.

His gaze moved up and down my figure, and he licked his lips.

I had forgotten that I was basically naked. I was basically naked!

I quickly grabbed the blanket off of the bed and wrapped it around myself, glaring at Grayson.

His smile just widened.

"You know, this entire situation could've been avoided if you had just opened your eyes."

I huffed. "Oh yeah?" I asked. "You're never touching me again. Ever. Again."

His eyes darkened, not fully to black, but more of a dark green.

He stood. I took a step back.

He watched me move away from him out of fright and paused. He closed his eyes tightly and

took a deep breath.

When he opened them again, they were back to normal. He looked at me and sighed.

"Go take a shower, baby. I'm going to go make breakfast."

He walked past me and out the door.

For a few seconds, I stood there. I rubbed my face with my hands. Okay then. He was gone. That was easier than I'd expected.

I guess it's time to get out of here.

Escaping the Alpha's Hold

BELLE

There was no way I was taking a shower like he wanted me to. Who knew how long I had before he would come looking for me?

I dropped the blanket I'd been holding around me and then quickly went over to where my leggings and bra were lying on the floor and grabbed them. I went to the bathroom.

First, I turned on the shower. It would give me more time if he thought I was doing as he told me.

Next, I used the toilet—I hadn't gone to the bathroom in a long time-and then I put on my bra and leggings.

I looked at the bathroom door. Okay, time to get out of here.

Leaving the shower on, I exited the bathroom and made my way over to the window.

I hadn't noticed before, but there was a balcony connected to the room. Convenient.

Before going outside, I gazed at my luggage longingly. I wanted to bring it with me, but I couldn't let it slow me down.

I would have to send the police to come get it later, after I'd gotten out of here.

I walked out onto the balcony. Wow. It was high up. There were several floors of the hotel below me. I looked up.

There were no other floors above me.

We were on the top floor. We were on the fucking top floor.

Was there another way out of there?

The front door was by the kitchen, and there'd be no way to get to it without passing Grayson since he was making breakfast. So that wasn't an option. And I hadn't seen any other doors.

I looked to my left. There was a staircase outside of the window in the next room over. I was assuming it was a fire escape.

That could work!

I ran out of the room and snuck into the one next door. This room was identical to the one that

Grayson and I had spent the night in. I went to the window and shoved it open. I climbed out of it and made my way onto the fire escape.

Oh my God, this might work.

As quietly as I could, I ran down the stairs. I was aware of the fact that the next window I'd pass would lead to the floor that Grayson was on. I needed to be careful, quick, and quiet,

Right before I was about to pass in front of it, I paused.

It was open. The window was freaking open. That would make things a lot harder.

I can do this. I have to do this.

Quickly, I crept past the open window without even a glance inside. Just as I was about to make it to the set of steps that would lead me to the next floor, a hand grabbed my wrist and yanked me backward.

I screamed bloody murder as I was tugged through the window and thrown over someone's shoulder. I tried kicking and pounding on the back of whoever was holding me, but they wouldn't let me go.

"No! Put me down!" I screamed. "Let me go!"

At first I thought it was Grayson who was holding me. But there were no sparks, and this person's touch made my skin crawl.

And then Grayson spoke: "Bring her over here, Kyle."

I was carried into the kitchen and then placed on a counter.

Grayson was standing next to me, stirring eggs in a skillet on the stove.

"Hi there," he said casually, glancing up at me.

I swallowed. Was he mad? He knew I was trying to escape.

"Hi," I breathed out.

He turned back to his scrambled eggs. "Kyle, will you go turn off the shower upstairs please?"

Kyle nodded. "Of course, Alpha." He gave me one last look and bit his lip, trying to hide his smile. I glared at him.

He chuckled and walked away, shaking his head. So trying to escape hadn't worked. It was now time for plan B: act sweet and nice until Grayson trusts me, and then somehow get out of here.

Grayson turned to the kitchen island behind him and began to cut strawberries.

"So you didn't want to take a shower, huh?"

How do I respond to that? "Um...no."

"Uh-huh..." Grayson opened the cabinet next to me and grabbed a bowl, then turned back to the strawberries he'd just cut and put them in there.

"What were you doing outside?"

"Um.I-I," I stuttered. "I wanted to get some fresh air!"

That's believable, right?

"Out on the fire escape?" he asked, setting the bowl down next to me on the counter.

"Why didn't you just go out onto the balcony connected to our room?" He went back to the scrambled eggs and turned off the burner.

Yeah, why didn't I just go out to the balcony? That was a great question. I looked down at my lap.

"I... Uh, well, I..."

Grayson's hand was suddenly on my knee.

"Here, try this." He put his finger in my mouth. Whatever was on his finger tasted incredible. It was sweet and lemony.

With his finger still in my mouth, I brought my gaze up to Grayson's. His eyes were pitch black. I moved my head back until his finger exited my mouth with a satisfying pop.

"Do you like it?" he asked, his voice deep and husky.

I nodded.

"It's for the lemon loaf," he explained. His eyes never left my lips. "You've got a little something

right there."

He stepped in between my legs and put his hand on the back of my neck, guiding my face closer to his.

I thought seriously about pushing him away, but then my act of being sweet would be over already.

He took my lower lip into his mouth and sucked it clean.

I leaned in closer to him, unable to control myself and wanting to press my lips to his, but he abruptly moved away.

"Oh, sorry," he said. "I forgot you didn't want me to touch you."

Honestly, I had forgotten too,

I glared at him. I knew what he was doing. He couldn't just get me all worked up and then not deliver. That just wasn't fair.

He raised his eyebrows at me as if challenging me to take back my words.

Nope, I wasn't going to do that.

He placed his hand on my cheek.

"The next time I kiss you will be when you ask for it."

Well, that worked for me. That meant I would never kiss him again. And I don't want to! I told myself.

He backed away from me after I nodded.

Noticing how dark his eyes had become, I tried to change the subject.

"Why do your eyes turn black?"

The first time his eyes had turned black it had really freaked me out. I mean, that's not normal. But now that I had seen it happen multiple times, I was getting used to it.

In fact, not only was I used to it, I almost found it comforting. There was something about

Grayson's black eyes that drew me in, made me feel protected and safe.

His eyes snapped to mine. They were still black. "It's a very long story,"

"I've got time." Especially now that it looked like 1 wouldn't be getting out of here anytime soon.

He grabbed a plate from the cupboard and filled it with the scrambled eggs he'd been making.

Then he walked over to the extravagant dining table in the far corner of the room.

I hadn't noticed it before, but the table was covered in breakfast foods.

There were croissants, pancakes, fruit, pastries, hash browns, eggs, bacon strips, sausages, and much more-not to mention coffee and juice in crystal glassware.

I gawked at the huge spread.

Grayson paused when he saw my shocked face.

"I didn't know what you liked, so I just got everything I could think of. Some of the food I made, and some I ordered from room service."

"That's a lot of food," I said.

He walked toward me, smiling. "Just eat what you want, love."

He stood in front of me and picked me up, wrapping my legs around him as if I were a child.

I was about to protest and demand that he put me down, but then I remembered that I was acting nice now. I needed Grayson to trust me.

So I wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my head on his shoulder.

A deep rumble came from his chest as his arms tightened around me.

He sat down on a chair at the table, keeping me in his lap.

He pulled two plates in front of us. I was uncomfortable sitting in his lap. I squirmed a bit.

"I can sit in my own chair," I said.

"No. The closer you are to me, the easier this transition will be for you."

He put some eggs on my plate. And then some pancakes.

And some bacon. And a muffin. And everything else that was in arm's length.

"Is that all for me?" I asked. He couldn't possibly have expected me to eat all of that.

"Just eat what you want, baby. I know you haven't eaten since you got on the plane yesterday. I just want to get some calories in you."

Well, that's kind of sweet. He wants to take care of me. As far as kidnappers went, he was a nice one.

But I still eyed the food warily. What if he had done something to it? What if it's poisoned?

I felt his breath on my ear. "While I'm very glad that you're cautious around strange food, I just need you to eat. I promise there's nothing wrong with it, Belle."

He took a bite out of my muffin to prove his point, then put it back on my plate.

"Now, eat."

I shakily picked up my fork and scooped some eggs into my mouth.

He nodded his head approvingly and started filling his own plate.

We sat in silence for a few minutes as I shoveled food into my mouth. I hadn't realized how hungry I was. Plus, I'll need my strength if I'm going to get out of here.

I was going to eat as much as I could. And the food was just really good, too.

Once I had finally slowed down, I noticed that Grayson was rubbing my leg as he watched me, all while polishing off his own plate of food.

I squirmed nervously, but decided not to remove his hand.

I could handle him touching me as long as it didn't gét too intimate.

"Eat some more," Grayson said.

I leaned back and shook my head, pushing my plate away from me. "If I eat any more, I might explode."

"Right. I forgot you can't eat as much as us."

I looked back at him. "Us? Who's us?"

Grayson nodded his head and sighed. "Now that you've gotten some rest and some food into your system, I guess I can start answering your questions."

He ran a hand over his face and then slowly turned my body so I was straddling him.

"Please don't be scared."

"Okay..." I was not expecting what happened next.

Darkening Eyes

BELLE

Grayson started speaking hesitantly. "Well.. I should probably... I guess I'll start with my eyes."

I nodded, urging him to go on.

"My eyes turn black when I lose control. And it usually has something to do with you."

"With me? What do you mean?" I asked.

He licked his lips.

"Usually, I have amazing control. In fact, I haven't lost control in years. Not since puberty. But ever since you've come into my life, things have changed. You bring out my strongest emotions."

"What do you mean?" I asked

"It usually comes from one of two emotions. One is anger.

Like when I found that man on the plane was harassing you

"He wasn't harassing me," I interrupted. "All he had done was_"

Grayson's hands gripped my hips tightly.

"Belle, do not say another word. You do not want to argue with me on this matter. The protectiveness and possessiveness I feel for you are overwhelming."

I began to shrink in on myself, not liking his words.

"What's the other emotion?" I whispered.

He brought his fingers to his temples, massaging them for a moment, then looked at me with a pained expression.

"It's when... Well, it happens when I... When I—"

"It happens when he's turned on. When he's feeling a little frisky. When he wants to put his dick in your—"

"Kyle, that's enough!" Grayson's booming voice interrupted.

Kyle was now at the bottom of the stairs, smiling widely at both of us. He shrugged.

"Just trying to make it easier on ya, Alpha."

Grayson growled as I quickly scrambled out of his lap, trying to put as much distance between us as possible.

"Is that true?" I asked once we had the table between us.

"Your eyes turn black when you're mad or when—"

"Yes, when I'm attracted to you. I wish Kyle had put it in nicer words, but what he says is true."

I shook my head. "I get why they turn black... But... How is that even possible? This is crazy!"

Grayson stood and crossed his arms over his chest. He didn't say anything. I don't think he liked being called crazy.

I let out a shaky breath. "Why am I here? What do you want with me?"

His shoulders sagged as he watched me. "Belle," he breathed out. "I wish I could take your fear away."

"You're the cause of my fear," I spat, not even totally convinced of my own words.

Hurt flashed in his eyes and then a deep growl came from his chest.

I took another step back. "Can I please go home? Will you let me go?"

"No." His voice came out sharp, leaving no room for argument. "I am not letting you go. You are mine."

"What do you mean?" I asked, beginning to feel extremely frustrated. "I am not yours! I am nobody's but my own!"

I watched as his eyes slowly darkened. I knew that this time it wasn't because of lust. It couldn't be. And if what he'd told me was true, then his eyes were turning black out of... anger.

"Your eyes..," I said.

"You've upset him," Kyle said, coming toward us. "He doesn't like you denying his possession of you."

"But I'm not his possession!" I shouted stubbornly.

Grayson's chest began to heave, and his entire body shook.

I took another step away from him, my back meeting the kitchen island.

"Luna, do not say another word," Kyle said.

"His wolf is becoming extremely upset."

"His wolf?"

Grayson let out another low growl.

Kyle looked at Grayson and nodded. "That is something that he would like to explain to you himself, Luna."

I shook my head.

"Explain what to me? I don't understand! And stop calling me 'Luna'! My name is Belle!"

Grayson began seething, moving his head around as if there was a kink in his neck.

Kyle turned to me. I must have looked completely terrified because his expression softened, like he was trying not to freak me out.

"You should touch him. You need to calm him down," he said.

"I am not doing that! I am not touching that lunatic!"

I heard snapping, and my eyes went to Grayson.

His face wrinkled into an expression of pain as his entire body convulsed forward.

He bent down, and his shoulder blades snapped and jutted upward as his rib cage broke and pushed out against the skin on the other side of his body. Dark fur sprouted from his arms and neck, and he yelled out in pain.

I screamed as he crouched low to the ground, watching as his body contorted and morphed into something else.

The sight before me became even more gruesome and horrifying as Grayson let out another yell of pain that turned into a loud growl.

In my state of complete shock and terror, I searched the kitchen frantically for a way out—realizing that Grayson's body was blocking both the front door and the window leading to the fire escape.

I ran to where Kyle was standing and grabbed his shoulders.

"Kyle, we have to get out of here! Please, we have to run!"

Kyle shook his head. "You cannot touch me, Luna," he said as he brushed my hands off of him.

"Alpha will not be happy if he sees you touching me."

Okay, so he's officially a lost cause.

I looked back at what used to be Grayson just in time to see his nose elongate and turn black.

He was now on all fours, with his ears pointing up like a dog's, and his jaw snapping upward into his newly pointed nose.

His clothes lay around him in shreds—his entire body had grown to be twice his regular size.

For a moment, time seemed to stand still.

Kyle and I didn't dare to move or make a sound. I held my breath, my heart pounding so hard that

I could feel it in my chest. And then the thing that used to be Grayson moved.

It looked at me and I gasped.

It was an enormous wolf.

Grayson had turned into a wolf.

Chase of Terror

BELLE

I screamed and felt tears of complete terror pour down my face.

I ran.

I wasn't even sure where I was running to; I just let my legs carry me away from the nightmare that my life had become.

I heard heavy paws running after me as I sprinted up the stairs, knowing it was Grayson on my heels.

I panicked and ran into the first room I came across.

That room just so happened to be the one I had first woken up in with him.

I slammed the door shut and locked it. I backed away from it.

It took precisely one second for something hard and large to start pounding against the door.

I sobbed as the entire room shook. I continued to step backward until I felt my back meet the window on the other side of the room. I slid down, hugging my knees to my chest.

He's trying to break down the door.

Oh my God. This is how I die.

The door shuddered like it was seconds away from splintering. In the middle of the pounding, the door handle jiggled.

I suddenly heard Kyle's voice.

"Luna, let him in! He's not going to hurt you!"

There was no way in hell I would do that. And by the looks of it, I didn't have to let Grayson in. He would do that all on his own. Any second now, the door would come crashing down.

And then I would be at his mercy.

Then, just like that, the door exploded away from its hinges and flew into the room, sliding a few feet across the floor. Grayson came charging in and his eyes immediately connected with mine. I whimpered, hugging my body tighter, as if it would hide me from the horse-sized wolf in front of me.

He approached me in a regal way, his chest puffed out and his head held high.

When he was only a foot in front of me, he let out a low growl and bared his teeth.

"He's trying to assert his dominance over you as you have denied his possession of you. He wants you to submit to him," Kyle said, standing in the doorway, his eyes wide as he watched us.

"I-I-" I said, trying to speak over my panic.

"Luna, just do what he wants. You will not like the outcome if you do not."

I looked into the wolf's terrifying, pitch-black eyes, and he bared his teeth once more.

I slowly nodded my head, knowing that it would not be smart to upset the animal any more than I already had.

I looked at Kyle. "How do I submit?"

"You must bare your neck to him."

When I gave him a confused look, he tilted his head to the side and pulled the collar of his shirt down to reveal his collarbone.

"Like this. It shows you trust him and submit to his higher rank over you."

Well, that was the last thing I wanted to do. But I knew I didn't have another choice-not if I wanted to get out of this situation alive.

I nodded.

I slowly brought a shaky hand up to the collar of my shirt and pulled it down to reveal my collarbone. Then I tilted my head to the side.

A purr-like noise came from the wolf's chest in appreciation. He leaned forward and placed his nose on my neck, right where he'd bit me when he was human.

He huffed and then ran his tongue up and down my neck.

At first, I leaned away from him, not liking the fact that an animal was licking me. But then I felt sparks moving over my body, originating from the spot.

I felt my head tilting to give Grayson better access, almost as if my body was moving out of instinct. I whimpered at the conflicting feelings running through my system. He licked my jugular, and a sob built up in my chest.

"Do not be scared, Luna," Kyle said from his spot in the doorway.

"Alpha would never hurt you."

Grayson froze and turned to face Kyle. He snapped his teeth at him and crouched low to the ground, approaching him slowly and threateningly. Kyle raised his hands in surrender and turned to me.

"Alpha would like me to leave."

He backed out of the room as Grayson got closer and closer, growling and snarling at him.

Panic shot through my chest. Kyle couldn't leave. Then I'd be alone with the giant, livid wolf that wanted to kill me.

"No, Kyle, please don't leave. You can't leave me alone with him. Please, please don't leave."

More tears ran down my cheeks. Grayson looked back at me, his eyes softening a bit.

He let out a quiet bark.

"I can't stay. It is not in my nature to disobey him. And he really wants me to leave," Kyle explained, retreating. "He believes I am a threat to you in your overwhelmed state."

I had no clue how Kyle knew these things, but he seemed so sure of himself and so calm, even though Grayson seemed about ready to murder him.

Grayson growled again, and Kyle took another step back.

"No, Kyle," I said frantically, my voice breaking. "Don't leave me. Please."

He gave me a sympathetic look. "He won't hurt you, I promise."

I sobbed. I was scared out of my mind.

Kyle glanced at me once more before saying, "I'm sorry," and left the room.

Leaving me alone with Grayson.

-------------------------------------------

Due to the size the book will continue on another page:

Kidnapped by My Mate - part 2

Free Online Read

Kidnapped by My Mate

Stranger at the Bar

Turbulence

Kiss of the Possessed

Pleasure of Pain

Moonlit Awakening

Flames of Desire

Life in Captivity

Morning Games

Escaping the Alpha's Hold

Darkening Eyes

Chase of Terror

Stranger at the Bar

Turbulence

Kiss of the Possessed

Pleasure of Pain

Moonlit Awakening

Flames of Desire

Life in Captivity

Morning Games

Escaping the Alpha's Hold

Darkening Eyes

Chase of Terror

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