CHAPTER 2

CLARA'S POV

I pressed a hand against his chest, settling my stance to protect my child. "Mr. Muller is her stuffed bear—she doesn't go anywhere without him." If Jane could leave the room, I could really fight. I thought to myself.

Taki raised an eyebrow, his gaze thoughtful. "Hurry, Jane. Get the bear—we have to go."

Quick as a flash, Jane darted from the room. Dark eyes met mine and I wavered, then shot my knee upward to his groin, simultaneously punching my fist toward his face with a fierce grunt.

He shifted, allowing my knee to connect to the muscle of his upper thigh while his arm shot out to stop my punch. His broad hand enclosed my fist inches away from his chin, and the slap of skin on skin echoed around the room. The basket of clothes remained safe in his free arm.

Pain lanced through my leg, and fear cascaded down my spine. Panting out breath, I waited for retaliation. If he hit me, he'd knock me out. What about Jane? I panicked.

Taki tilted his head to the side, his hand warm around mine. "Is your leg all right?" He asked.

He asked about my leg? Seriously? I had just tried to turn him into a eunuch. "Fine," I hissed through my teeth.

"Hmmm," he said, twisting his hand to grasp my wrist and yank me into the living room. "You might want to work on not broadcasting your intent with those pretty blue eyes next time." Mere politeness colored his tone, not an ounce of anger to be found.

I stumbled, truly off balance for the first time that evening.

"I got him," Jane chirped, running into the room with the stuffed bear and her worn blankie. "We can go now."

The front door hung drunkenly split in two. At the sight, I began to struggle again. With an exasperated sigh, Taki dropped the basket of clothes, shifted me to the side, and lifted Janie into his arms.

"No!" I cried out, reaching for my daughter before pounding on his broad back. Pure instinct moved me to protect Jane, and rage choked me as I beat on his dark vest.

"Get the clothes and move it," he growled over his shoulder. He crossed the front porch, heading toward a black Hummer idling at the curb.

I threw myself against the man holding my child, knocking over the basket. Clothes scattered across the wooden planks.

"Let her go, you bastard!" I screamed at him.

He may not intend harm, but he had no right to kidnap us. I clutched one arm around his massive neck as my knees dug into his spine. I jerked hard against his windpipe. A rush of anger slammed through my body, pushing out the fear.

Even with me struggling on his back, his long strides continued toward the vehicle unhampered. He yanked open the rear door, placed Jane in a booster seat, and buckled her in with quick motions. I moved to jump off him, only to have him close the door, grab my arm, and pull me around. Two strong hands held me aloft. Hard steel met my backside when he stepped into me, his face lowering to mine. "Stop fighting me." He said.

His strength was unbelievable. My own vulnerability beat into me as I realized my nightshirt had risen to reveal pale pink panties. The cool night air rushed across my bare legs. Dark denim scratched the tender skin of my inner thighs, and I opened my mouth to scream.

One swift movement and his mouth covered mine. Hot, firm, and somehow restrained. The effort of his restraint belted into me. He fought to control himself. Heat slammed through me. A roaring filled my ears and my breath hitched. My heart slowed, and time stopped. For a brief moment, his heartbeat echoed throughout my body to a spot below my stomach.

He growled low and his mouth moved over mine, no longer silencing me, but tasting. Exploring. One thick arm swept around my waist and pulled me into him; the other lifted to tangle a hand in my hair. He tugged, angled my head more to the side. He went deeper.

I moaned as his tongue met mine. He explored my mouth like he owned it. For a moment, he did. I forgot everything. There were only his lips on mine, demanding. Promising. His heat warmed me as I returned his kiss, pushing closer into his hard body, forgetting reality.

Pure strength surrounded me. Hot. Dangerous. Tempting. Then a bird screeched high above and awareness crashed into me.

I jerked my head back, my lips tingling, my mind spinning. Deep brown eyes kept my gaze. His arm tightened around my waist while he raised his head farther.

"Don't scream." He said. His voice had deepened to something guttural, something that added to the fluttering in my lower stomach.

"Mummy?" Jane's voice wavered from inside the vehicle.

"She can't see us—I have the privacy screens up," he murmured.

Great. So no one could see in, either. Smart kidnapper.

"Tell her it's all right." He released my hair to allow space between us.

"No. Let us go." Reality cascaded back with the coldness of his moving away. What had I done? I brought my elbow down on his collarbone. Hard. A shaft of pain shot up my arm, and my eyes widened. How did that not injure him?

He grinned, amusement softening his hard mouth. Releasing me, he yanked open the passenger side door and lifted me inside, snapping the seat belt before she could blink. Then his face was in mine again. "Undo this belt and I'll tie you up." That sounded like a threat.

The door slammed, and he was back in the car before I drew another breath. His words should have frightened me. But instead, fury threatened to explode out of me. I tamped down on it with a scientist's mind—I had get out of this.

With a screech of tires, he pulled the Hummer into the quiet street. I searched frantically for some type of weapon. Mere minutes had passed since Jane had awoken me—we were taken so quickly, nobody would even know we were gone. I flashed my gaze toward the now silent man. The early light of dawn filtered through the tinted windows and danced across the hard planes of his face. I studied him, searching for a weakness. Any weakness.

"Jane, you'll be safe soon." He said, kindness wove through his words.

I swung my head around. "It's going to be okay, Jane," I whispered to her, fighting tears.

Jane, her blue eyes sparkling, grinned back. "I know, mum. I knew Taki was coming."

"You did?"

"Yeah. I dreamt about him. But I didn't know when." Grinning, she clutched her worn teddy bear to her chest, snuggling her nose into his fluffy hair.

I faced the front, my mind whirling. I was in the middle of an experiment at work—I needed to be there tomorrow. What if I rolled down the window and screamed? Would anybody hear?

"I'm not going to hurt you, Clara." He entered the empty highway.

I worried my lip in between my teeth. Miss Kiara would be the first to know we were gone when Jane didn't show up for preschool tomorrow. She'd call someone, right? Or just assume Jane was home sick with the stomach virus going around the class? "So how about you let us go, um, Taki?" I wondered if he was crazy, if I could somehow reason with him.

He flashed me a glance at the use of his name and heat rushed to my face. "I can't let you go." He replied.

Nope, no reasoning with him. "Why not?" I slid my hand down to my belt buckle.

"I wasn't kidding about tying you up." His warning rumbled through the small space. I jerked my hand back to my lap. "You're in danger, more than you can understand right now." He said again.

Oh, I understood all right. I straightened in my seat when he exited the highway at the edge of Mercy Lake, my safe little town on the outskirts of Boston. My stomach dropped as I realized there was only one place they could be going. "You're taking us to the private airport?"

"Yes."

"Why?" The exclusive airport was used only for corporate jets and small water planes.