Taken (4 page)

* * * *

Kitty’s eyes fluttered open. She was chilled to the bone and she shivered. Her eyes focused on movement to one side of the room and she saw him standing there. He wasn’t looking at her. He’d just pulled a pair of pants from a duffle bag. He was completely naked, and she felt heat rise to her cheeks in spite of her shivering. As he pulled on his pants she eyed him. He had muscular legs, strong arms, a well-defined chest and a set of abs most bodybuilders would kill for. He was half turned from her as he pulled a sweater from the duffle and slid it on over his wet-looking black hair. She tried to reason what had happened. She’d fallen through the ice…she’d drowned…hadn’t she?

Confusion muddled her mind, and as her abductor turned toward her, their gazes met. His gray eyes went wide as she stared at his face. So handsome for a bad guy, she thought. His skin was tanned and he had a few days worth of whiskers on his face. He had a nice squared jaw and a face with strong, sculpted features. His soft-looking lips frowned as she stared at him.

“Damn it all to hell,” he said with a growl.

She felt a bit of fear as she noticed her torn pantyhose, skirt and blouse laying on the edge of the bed. Kitty also found her hands were tied in front of her. She twisted and pulled free of the blanket wrapped around her as she rolled to the far side of the bed. She’d made it halfway off when a hand grabbed her by the ankle and yanked her back across the mattress on her belly.

“No,” she screamed and kicked out at the man, catching him in the mouth.

“Fuck,” he cried out, but didn’t release his grip as he grappled her other ankle. With a powerful twist, he flipped her over onto her back again. He reached out and grabbed her tied wrists. With one hard jerk of his arms, he pulled her right up to him as he stood glaring at her. His lip fattened from where she’d kicked him.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said.

With a light shove, he pushed her back down onto the bed and forced her bound limbs up over her head. He grabbed her tattered pantyhose and looped them through her bindings and tied her securely to the cast-iron bed frame. Kitty laid there completely naked. Her heart raced wildly. His chest heaved a few times as his gaze traveled over her. The grayness in his eyes seemed to cloud and fill with lust. It reminded her of Gregory’s when he looked at her.

“Oh, god, please…” she whispered as tears burned in her eyes.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he said. His voice sounded even deeper. He pulled a blanket over her and tucked it tightly all around her.

He ran his hands through his hair as he stared at her. The look on his face seemed worried and agitated. He paced the room a little bit while cursing softly. The man leaned over her and checked her bindings again and then left the room. Kitty tried to get her hands free, but this time they were done up too tightly and she couldn’t get them undone. She heard him downstairs, cupboard doors opening and closing, as well as drawers, echoing up the stairs.

She wasn’t sure why he’d taken her, other than as a kidnapping, or maybe he was a serial killer or rapist. Her imagination ran wild with what he may do to her if any one of those theories was accurate. It meant she’d die. She shimmied up and managed to get herself into a sitting position. Kitty used her teeth to tug at the heavily knotted bindings.

Chapter Four

Caleb emptied the can of soup into a pot and turned the heat on under it. This should warm her, he thought. It was what his mom gave him when he’d come in from playing in the cold as a kid and it always warmed him up. The light flickered momentarily. “For fuck sakes,” he said.

He grabbed candles out of a drawer and a lighter, then tossed them and a saucer onto a tray he’d found. He took a spoon and bowl out and poured the hot chicken noodle soup into it.

Everything was coming apart, he thought as he grabbed the tray and the bag of woman’s clothes before heading up the stairs. He wasn’t good at this kidnapping shit, and now the girl knew what he looked like. If he told Trites, he’d want her dead.

“Hey,” he yelled, and the girl turned her head to stare at him. She was sitting up, and the blanket had fallen around her waist as she’d tried to get the knots untied with her teeth.

He put the tray down and looked at her as she trembled. The lights flickered again and went out. “Oh for the love of fuck!” He growled. He could tell nothing would go right on this job. He felt for the lighter on the tray and lit it, then set the fat candles on the saucers before lighting the others.

“What do you want from me?” the girl asked. Her voice was so small and delicate-sounding. Caleb felt so damn bad for doing this as he looked at her sitting there, her trying to hide her naked chest from him with her arms.

He picked up the bag and put it on the bed, then flipped his knife open. Her eyes went wide as he moved toward her. “I’m going to cut you free. Be good this time please and just do what I say,” he told her sternly. As he freed her from the bindings he saw they’d left deep red marks in her skin from her struggling to get free. He kept the knife pointed at her so she wouldn’t try to escape again.

“There’s clothing in the bag. Put them on,” he said.

With shaky hands, she reached for the bag and snatched the sweatshirt out and the pants as well. She quickly pulled the clothing on to cover herself, and part of him was relieved her nudity was finally out of his sight. He’d gotten a hard-on as they’d struggled when he’d had to tie her wrists to the bedpost.

Caleb would never force himself on a woman, no matter how aroused he was. And this little lady aroused him greatly. She was something he’d been waiting for all his adult life. He knew she was the one, knew it was his mate sitting there in front of him, and now he needed to figure out just what he’d do about it.

Somehow he’d have to get her to trust him, even though that may be impossible now. “Here, eat this,” he said, passing her the bowl of soup.

“Why are you doing this?” she asked meekly as she took the food from him.

“The money.” A look of relief flashed in her eyes. “What do you think I was going to do?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I… Well…I don’t know,” she stammered and then took a spoonful of the hot soup.

He watched her eat and then took the bowl from her once she was finished. He hated what he had to do next.

“Lie down,” he ordered, and the fear crept back into her eyes. He knew what she was thinking by the look.

“I’m not going to do anything to you. I swear it, but you have to lie down so I can tie you back up.” Tears rolled down her cheeks as she slowly did as he’d asked.

After he had both her wrists and ankles bound, he sat on the edge of the bed beside her as the winds outside howled and the whole house shook. The temperature in the place had dropped quite a bit already, and as far out in the middle of nowhere they were, the power could be out for hours or even days.

“I’m going to go start a fire in the fireplace. When I get it going and the living room has warmed up, I’ll bring you down.” Caleb left her in the darkness as he took the fat candle with him.

* * * *

Kitty was unable to get herself free since he’d tied her arms behind her back this time and her ankles were bound to the bed. She’d been kidnapped, which was a little better than the alternatives. The smell of wood smoke reached her nose and soon she heard his footsteps coming. She saw the low glow of the candle in his hand.

He walked into the room and gathered up all the blankets and pillows, then left again. Shortly he returned and he flipped his knife open, cutting her ankles free before he put it away.

“Come on,” he said as he helped her to stand and led her downstairs to the living room. There was an old couch made up to sleep on, which was pulled up in front of the fire. He looked at her and smiled softly.

“Sit down,” he said, and after she did, he sat beside her. He took her hands and cut them free. He used two zip ties and bond her wrist to his left one. “I need some sleep.”

He pulled her down with him onto the couch. He laid on his side at the back with her on hers, facing the warmth of the fireplace. Once they settled, he pulled the covers over both of them with his free hand.

She lay there for what seemed an eternity as the man behind her snored lightly. Kitty didn’t think if she tried to run she’d get far. She was still cold right to the core from her near drowning and actually liked the warmth of both the fire and the man’s body behind her. She tried to fathom how he’d found her and actually saved her life. Those were the last thoughts on her mind as sleep stole her away.

Kitty awoke to heated breath on her neck. It felt strange, and her heart raced as her eyes flew open. A strong arm pulled her closer to the wall of a man behind her. She lay completely still as his hand moved up over her belly to her chest. She held her breath. He snored lightly and pulled her nearer again, his hand resting on her bosom.

A sudden nuzzling to her ear sent shock waves racing down her spine, and she gasped out loud, trying to move away. He held her tighter and pushed something hard against her lower back. The soft mumbles he muttered she couldn’t understand. As he kissed the side of her neck his hand kneaded her breast. A mixed rush of fear and excitement ran over her.

Kitty knew he was asleep and wasn’t aware of what he’d done to her. The feeling of this man’s hand on her in an intimate way felt good and she wasn’t sure why. A shiver ran over her as her thighs twitched and warmth built inside her. Another kneading movement caused a moan to pass her lips, making her embarrassed by her response to his touch. Then he moved downward and she trembled again, but this time it stopped on her tummy and stayed there. His snoring became a bit heavier, and she eventually relaxed enough again to fall back asleep.

Kitty had strange dreams of skating with her abductor on a frozen road in the mountains. The moon shone down on them as they circled each other, each time getting a little closer to one another. Than as they met, he bent, and as his lips were about to meet hers, she fell into frigid cold water and couldn’t breathe. Her lungs burned and she trembled as the air was stolen away from her. Everything became bright and glowing and he was there again, her kidnapper, saving her. His lips on hers, his arms wrapped around her protecting her from the cold.

* * * *

Caleb felt the warmth of her body against his and snuggled closer, enjoying the feeling of her being in his arms. The smell of her was so incredibly rich, and as his eyes opened he realized his hand was up her shirt, firmly planted against her breast. Her nipple was hard against the flesh of his palm and the smell of her arousal was thick in the air around them.

He knew she was asleep by her soft, steady breathing, and he slowly moved his hand away and brought it to rest on her waist. Caleb took a deep breath of her heady scent again and his erection pushed against the confinement of his jeans.
God, I want her
. Images of her last night lying on the bed naked filled his mind. Her gentle stirrings in front of him brought his attention to the fact she’d have to go back into the cell when Henderson and Trites came. He gave her a little nudge and it was all it took to wake her and she stiffened.

“Come on, time to get up and eat,” he told her. After he had her untied and in the cold kitchen, his cell phone went off. “Yeah,” he said.

“It’s me,” Trites replied.

“Yeah, what do you want?”

“How did you make out in the storm last night?” Trites sounded curious and Caleb wondered why.

“Lost the power.”

“And Kitty?” The suspicious tone in his voice made it clear he was fishing to see if Caleb had done something to her.

“Kitty?” he asked and saw the girl cock her head. Caleb knew it was her name.

“Miss Callaghan.”

“I never touched her. She’s fine. I’m about to feed her.”

“Good, keep it that way. We’ll be out there after supper. Is there anything you need?”

“Beer and four sets of handcuffs,” he said and then hung up the phone. The girl stared at him. He knew she wanted to ask him questions just by the look on her face.

Without too much trouble, he tied her to the chair in the kitchen. This time he also tied her ankles to the legs. The way he was going through zip ties was ludicrous, the handcuffs would make it so much easier.

“Who are you working with?” she asked.

“Yeah, I’m not about to tell you, Kitty,” he said, liking the way her name sounded. It suited her.

“What did you do with Gregory?”

“Gregory?”

“Yes, Gregory. He was with me when you took me.” She said it calmly.

“Don’t worry, he’ll live. Here eat this.” He handed her a sandwich and a glass of milk, then sat at the table across from her.

She nibbled on the sandwich as he drank his last beer. Kitty kept looking at him in an odd way and it had a part of him stirring again.

“So why the name Kitty?”

“My grandmother called me it since I was a little girl.”

“What’s your real name?” He felt kind of stupid as she stared at him a little shocked. Here he’d kidnapped her and only knew her last name.

“Katarina Callaghan.” Her eyes twinkled a little.

The microwave beeped, making them both stare over at it.

“Looks like the power is back on. You want some coffee? I know I need one.” He stretched out his arms and stifled a yawn. The simple movement drew her gaze. He flexed his muscles in his arms, and her face glowed warmly as he caught her looking him over. He couldn’t help but smile.

He got up and made a pot of coffee and checked to make sure the heat was coming from the heaters.

“What’s your name?” Kitty asked.

“I’m not going to tell you,” he told her with a chuckle.

“What do I call you then?”

“You don’t. Look, we only have to wait until the banks open on Monday morning. Then I let you go after we have the money we want.” He said it, making it seem so simple, even though he knew it would be far from easy.