finally crawling into bed and falling into an exhausted sleep. At least now she could sleep properly. There was nothing left for her to be on guard against.
***
CHAPTER SEVEN
The sons of bitches had locked her in without so much as a stitch of clothing to wear.
Alayna tried the door again, even though she knew damned well it wasn’t going to open. It hadn’t taken them long to forget their promises about making her happy. That was all right, she hadn’t forgotten her promise either. She’d warned them she would make their life a living hell if they claimed her, and now seemed as good a time as any to make good on that threat. She sucked in a lungful of air and started screaming for someone to let her out, pummeling on the door with her hands as she yelled.
“And good morning to you, too.” Nikolai’s rumbling tones came from the other side of the door less than a minute later.
“Open this door and let me out of here!”
There was a momentary pause and she could almost swear she could hear muffled laughter. “You’re locked in?”
“Of course I’m locked in. You two are the ones who did it!”
“The door doesn’t lock from the outside. Check the handle.” The bastard wasn’t even trying to hide his laughter now. Alayna got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she crouched down and took a good look at the door handle. There was an old fashioned, push-in and turn locking mechanism on the damned thing. She’d locked herself in when she’d slammed the door last night.
Well, fuck.
She yanked the door open and came face to face with Nikolai. He was leaning up against the doorjamb, a wide grin on his face as he crowed with laughter. He was wearing a pair of jeans that hugged his well-muscled thighs, and a sleeveless, black shirt that left a distracting amount of his arms and chest bare. Stars, the man was hot. It was hard to stay furious when he looked that damned good. “Some thief you are, vorovka. Did you really think we would lock you in?”
“Yes, I did,” she shot back, arms crossed across her chest as she belatedly remembered she was stark naked. Fuck it. He’d already seen her nude, so there was no point in ducking back behind the doorway now. That ship had already launched.
Nikolai stopped laughing the second she spoke. The last thing he wanted was for her to think he was the kind of man who would lock her up or deny her the freedom she so clearly treasured. “We’d never do that to you. Damn it, Alayna, what sort of men do you take us for?”
“The kind that would hold a girl down and brand her with your mark so that everyone would know she’s your possession, even though she begged you not to.”
That mark. Nikolai was trying not to stare at it, but it wasn’t easy. He knew that claiming often came quickly, and part of him regretted how they’d accomplished theirs. He couldn’t regret having done it though. Not when the sight of their design on her golden skin was enough to make him want to roar in triumph. He just wasn’t stupid enough to let her see how happy he was when she was still so raw over being claimed. “I know that wasn’t our finest moment, but that’s how these things usually go. It’s sort of a flaw in the system.”
“A flaw ? From where I’m standing it’s a bit more than a fucking flaw! I went from being an independent woman to a sex toy in less than twelve hours.”
What the hell was she talking about?
“Whoa. Back up. Who said you were any such thing?”
“That’s what I am, isn’t it? You’re very own, Alliance authorized, sex toy. No rights, no freedom, no life, and for that matter, no clothes.” She glanced down at her naked body and he had to force himself not to let his gaze drift downward right along with hers. She was a beautiful temptation, and right now he couldn’t afford to be tempted or distracted. He had to make her understand that she was so much more to them than just a pretty face or a sex partner. She
***
CHAPTER SEVEN
The sons of bitches had locked her in without so much as a stitch of clothing to wear.
Alayna tried the door again, even though she knew damned well it wasn’t going to open. It hadn’t taken them long to forget their promises about making her happy. That was all right, she hadn’t forgotten her promise either. She’d warned them she would make their life a living hell if they claimed her, and now seemed as good a time as any to make good on that threat. She sucked in a lungful of air and started screaming for someone to let her out, pummeling on the door with her hands as she yelled.
“And good morning to you, too.” Nikolai’s rumbling tones came from the other side of the door less than a minute later.
“Open this door and let me out of here!”
There was a momentary pause and she could almost swear she could hear muffled laughter. “You’re locked in?”
“Of course I’m locked in. You two are the ones who did it!”
“The door doesn’t lock from the outside. Check the handle.” The bastard wasn’t even trying to hide his laughter now. Alayna got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach as she crouched down and took a good look at the door handle. There was an old fashioned, push-in and turn locking mechanism on the damned thing. She’d locked herself in when she’d slammed the door last night.
Well, fuck.
She yanked the door open and came face to face with Nikolai. He was leaning up against the doorjamb, a wide grin on his face as he crowed with laughter. He was wearing a pair of jeans that hugged his well-muscled thighs, and a sleeveless, black shirt that left a distracting amount of his arms and chest bare. Stars, the man was hot. It was hard to stay furious when he looked that damned good. “Some thief you are, vorovka. Did you really think we would lock you in?”
“Yes, I did,” she shot back, arms crossed across her chest as she belatedly remembered she was stark naked. Fuck it. He’d already seen her nude, so there was no point in ducking back behind the doorway now. That ship had already launched.
Nikolai stopped laughing the second she spoke. The last thing he wanted was for her to think he was the kind of man who would lock her up or deny her the freedom she so clearly treasured. “We’d never do that to you. Damn it, Alayna, what sort of men do you take us for?”
“The kind that would hold a girl down and brand her with your mark so that everyone would know she’s your possession, even though she begged you not to.”
That mark. Nikolai was trying not to stare at it, but it wasn’t easy. He knew that claiming often came quickly, and part of him regretted how they’d accomplished theirs. He couldn’t regret having done it though. Not when the sight of their design on her golden skin was enough to make him want to roar in triumph. He just wasn’t stupid enough to let her see how happy he was when she was still so raw over being claimed. “I know that wasn’t our finest moment, but that’s how these things usually go. It’s sort of a flaw in the system.”
“A flaw ? From where I’m standing it’s a bit more than a fucking flaw! I went from being an independent woman to a sex toy in less than twelve hours.”
What the hell was she talking about?
“Whoa. Back up. Who said you were any such thing?”
“That’s what I am, isn’t it? You’re very own, Alliance authorized, sex toy. No rights, no freedom, no life, and for that matter, no clothes.” She glanced down at her naked body and he had to force himself not to let his gaze drift downward right along with hers. She was a beautiful temptation, and right now he couldn’t afford to be tempted or distracted. He had to make her understand that she was so much more to them than just a pretty face or a sex partner. She
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