Page 18 of Inferno
Yes, that must be it. Anders is only here because Parker asked him to be.
The knowledge both calms me and makes me a little sad. Deep down, I know that a guy like Anders isn’t for me, but popping the bubble of the fantasy I’d concocted in my head is still disappointing, no matter how unrealistic it was.
I’m a virgin and completely inexperienced, and Anders isn’t a starter guy. He’s the type of man that experts can’t handle. He’s completely out of my league, and he always will be.
“What’s wrong, Kitten?” he asks, his tone soft and sweet, entirely different to the voice he used when he called me Boy.
“I’m fine. I appreciate the ride and Parker’s concern, but the bus is perfectly safe, and so is my apartment. I have five lockson the door and nothing worth stealing,” I say, laughing self-deprecatingly to myself.
“Five locks,” he growls animalistically.
“Yep. Totally safe,” I say, forcing a lightness into my tone.
Slamming the car brakes on, Anders screeches to a stop, then throws his car into reverse and spins around in the street, accelerating forward so fast I’m thrown back in my chair.
“What’s the matter?” I gasp, clinging to the edge of the seat.
“I’m not letting you stay somewhere that you need five locks to feel safe,” he growls, but it’s like he’s talking to himself, not me.
“Err, that’s where I live. It’s where I’ve lived for years, and I’ve only been broken into twice. I think once they figured there was nothing to take, they spread the word, and no one has bothered me since.”
I thought that’d make him feel better, but if anything, his aura darkens and his speed increases as we race through town and toward the dark mountain.
“Anders, where are we going?” I ask shakily.
“My place.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re mine, Boy, and I’m taking you home.”
My entire being screeches to a jarring halt, and it takes me several long moments to reboot. When my brain finally blinks back online, I turn to look at the beautiful, terrifying man beside me.
“What?” I question.
“I tried to fight it. I’m not the man for you, but I can’t help it. I can’t take you to a place where you need five locks to be safe. Where you’ve had thieves break in twice already. I can’t do it. I won’t fucking do it. So, you’re coming home with me instead.”
“Anders, I would like you to take me back to town, please,” I said calmly, refusing to beg or allow him to hear the fear…and hope in my voice.
“No.”
“I’m going to please ask you to turn around and take me back to town, or I’m going to call the cops,” I said, calm, determined…almost confidently.
“You don’t know much about this town, do you, Boy? If you call the cops and tell them I’ve told you you’re mine and that I’m taking you home, they won’t come and rescue you. They’ll laugh and say another one bites the dust. This kind of thing happens around here so much that it’s not a crime anymore.”
His words made ice fill my veins. “Kidnapping isn’t a crime here?” I repeat, my voice shaking.
“Don’t be scared of me. I won’t hurt you. I’d never fucking hurt you. But I will keep you safe, and if that means taking you to my place, then that’s what I’ll do.”
I don’t know why his pleading request not to be scared of him affects me, but it does. I can’t stop my fear, but despite how scared I am to be stuck in a car with him, on the way to his place, in a town where apparently kidnapping isn’t an issue, I suddenly don’t feel like he’d ever physically hurt me.
Neither of us speaks for a long while as he turns his car onto the road that traverses the mountain, slowing down until my fingers start to loosen my hold on my seat.
“Are you okay?” he asks, reaching over me to tuck the sides of the blanket more securely around me.
“I’d really like to go home,” I whisper.
Sighing, he nods. “I know, Kitten, but that’s not happening. If you don’t want to live with me, we’ll figure something else out for you, but tonight that’s where you’ll be. I live right next door to Danny and Parker, but they have their own shit to sort out, and we won’t be interrupting them. Do you understand?”
