Surrender 01 - Surrender

could help it, she wouldn’t be in that dump for long.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

    “Where are we?” Ari asked as Rafe parked the car in an underground garage. He’d had to use a card to enter and there were cameras everywhere. Rafe was a lot of things, but she hadn’t really figured him for a kidnapper.
    Maybe he’d grown tired of waiting for her and decided to lock her away until she finally consented. Her stomach knotted as he climbed from the car and walked around to open her door.
    She warily stepped from the vehicle and waited for an explanation. He simply smiled at her as if he had everything under control, then held out his arm. She was too worn out to fight him, especially when she knew she’d lose anyway, so she allowed him to lead her to a set of elevators. He did all of this without saying a word.
    Rafe swiped a card against a black box and the elevator doors instantly opened. Ari threw him a questioning glance as she stepped inside; he ignored the look and pushed a button. The two of them began climbing floor after floor in a smooth ascent that seemed interminable to Ari. At long last, a small chime announced their arrival. Relieved, she glanced at the number highlighted on the elevator buttons and learned that they were on the sixteenth floor.
    “This way, please.”
    Now wasn’t the time for Ari to defy him, in what looked to be an apartment complex. Even though he always promised her that all she had to do was say no and he’d stop, she was afraid not of him, but of her reaction to his touch.
    She didn’t think she’d be able to tell him no , and she almost hated herself each time she detonated in his arms. She didn’t feel like the woman her mother had raised her to be.
    He pulled out another card and slid it where a doorknob should have been, and the door opened easily. Whatever had happened to keys and knobs? It was doubtless too ordinary for Rafe to enter a building that used good old-fashioned deadbolts. She wouldn’t be surprised to discover laser beams ready to strike down trespassers.
    “Are you ever going to tell me where we are?” she snapped as she walked inside and found herself entering a large living area.
    “This could be your home. I’ve owned it for months,” he responded as she turned to look at him. She was appalled at how confident he was that she’d cave to him.
    “You’re wasting both your money and my time. I don’t want your apartment. Please take me home now,” she said and turned back toward the door.
    “Look around, Ari. What have you got to lose?” Though he spoke softly, the tone in his voice told her he wasn’t making a request. It was a command.
    “So, this is where you chain your whores up and do unspeakable things to them. It looks a bit too home and garden. I was expecting a dungeon with whips and chains hanging on the walls. Of course, I haven’t seen the rest of the place, so that might just be through a secret passage,” she said as she began moving toward the hallway.
    “I don’t need whips and chains, Ari. I’m quite convincing,” he whispered in her ear, making her jump. She hadn’t realized he was right on her heels.
    “Yes, you’re a macho god whom all should fear and bow to. Whatever was I thinking?” she said as she turned back to bat her eyes at him.
    Rafe glared at her. “One of these days that tongue will get you in more trouble than you know how to deal with.”
    “Is that a threat, Rafe? For a man who doesn’t punish his women, you sure use a lot of intimidation.”
    Rafe pushed her hard against the wall, his body blocking her from moving as he gazed down at her, his eye color almost fully purple. Her heart rate quickened and her breathing became shallow at the hunger mixed with rage that shone through his dark depths.
    “I never once said I don’t punish, Ari. I do punish, and I will delight in teaching you obedience. What I’ve said is that I don’t cause pain,” he growled before his head bent and he took control of her lips.
    She pushed against his chest, knowing that within a few minutes she’d be a goner if he continued ravishing her mouth. Just as her knees began to grow weak, he pulled back, his breathing ragged.
    “Finish your tour,” he commanded, then he turned and walked away. Ari leaned against the wall for several more seconds as she heard him open a cupboard. When she felt confident that her legs wouldn’t fail her and she could move without sinking to the floor, she progressed down the hall