Monster (Impossible #1) (5 page)

Bradley was tense, but he released me.  I rubbed my wrist tenderly, trying to alleviate some of the discomfort.  I was again struck by the odd sensation of gratitude towards Sean.  He had proven to be my savior several times.

But no.  That was wrong.  He might have stopped Bradley from killing me, but he still kept me captive here, refusing to release me.  I again hardened the walls around my heart.

“I’ll be right outside,” Bradley said to me threateningly.  “If you try anything stupid, I’ll cuff you again.”

I swallowed, nodding.  I didn’t want that to happen.  So I settled for folding my arms across my chest in a small show of defiance, but otherwise I held my tongue.  I maintained my hard stance as Bradley swung the door shut.  I didn’t allow myself to break eye contact with him until the lock clicked into place and he was hidden from view.

Coiled tight from my tense situation, I jumped slightly at the sound of Sean patting the bed beside me.

“Sit down, doc,” he ordered lazily.

I glared at him.  I had spent enough time on that bed beside the disturbingly handsome man already.  “I’d rather not,” I said drily.  “And I thought I told you to call me Dr. Ellers.”

His expression froze for a moment, as though taken aback by my gumption.  Then his grin widened.  “Sit down, Claudia,” he re-phrased, addressing me slightly more respectfully.  But it still wasn’t a question; it wasn’t enough for me.  Despite being undeniably charmed by his heart-melting smile, I held my glare.

He blinked once,
then chuckled, a deep, rumbling noise that made something tug strangely in my chest.  But he stopped quickly, cut off by a wince as the movement jarred his chest.

“You should try not to laugh.  Avoid sudden movements,” I advised.

He grimaced at me, his dark eyes full of pain.  “No shit, doc,” he ground out through gritted teeth.

I frowned back at him, piercing him with a sharp glare.

After a moment, he rolled his eyes.  “No shit,
Claudia
,” he corrected.  Then he yawned widely.  “Your antagonism is wearing me out.  That can’t be good for my health,” he accused, but there was a lightness in his tone that suggested that he still found me amusing.

“That’s the oxycodone,” I said, trying to suppress a small smile.  Despite everything, his easy humor was catching; his levity in the face of intense pain seemed to infect me.  “You should rest more,” I said kindly.

“You’re a lot bossier than most of the women I find handcuffed to my bed, you know,” he said.  He patted the bed beside him again.  “Now sit down.  Watching you stand there all tense is making me tired.”

“You
should
be tired,” I reiterated, but I found my knees folding as though of their own accord.  Still, I was careful to position my body as far from Sean as possible, practically perching on the edge of the bed.

It didn’t escape his notice, and his eyes were mocking as he spoke. “I won’t bite you, you know.”  Then his grin turned wolfish.  “Not unless you want me to, that is.  I’d be quite happy-”

“Not in a million years,” I said, cutting him off sharply.  “Now, before you go off into some drug-induced lucid fantasy, let’s get something straight: You are not to touch me in any way.  You may think that your eighth-grade flirting is cute, but it’s pretty fucked up considering that the
only
reason I’m in your bedroom is that you won’t allow me to leave.  So whatever your perverted little mind is imagining, don’t let your fantasy include me as a willing participant.”

The predatory grin was gone from his face as though I had slapped it away.  His expression darkened, the lines of his face drawing downwards.  He suddenly couldn’t seem to meet my eye.  “Claudia, I....”

“You what, Sean?”  I asked angrily, hurling his name out like a curse.

“I’m sorry,” he said finally, looking up at me through his long, dark lashes.  “I’m sorry I can’t let you leave.”

“But you can,” I said, desperation coloring my tone.  “I promise I won’t tell-”

“You just can’t, Claudia!”  He said harshly, his eyes snapping up to burn into mine.  They were ablaze with
an anger so intense that I scooted away from him as far as I could without falling off the bed.  The man before me was so different from the flirty, arrogant boy I had seen only moments earlier; this man gave off an aura of power that threatened to overwhelm me.  It frightened me almost more than Bradley’s gun.

But I refused to show how intimidated I was, so I summoned up all of my courage and met his furious gaze.  “You should get some rest,” I said coldly.

For a moment, we were frozen, the strength of our wills locking us in place as they silently squared off against one another.  But no, I wasn’t frozen; I was warm.  The blaze in Sean’s eyes burned with something other than anger, a darker flame.  It awoke an answering fire in me, and heat pooled in my belly, flames licked across my skin.  The way that they danced over my flesh, contrasting sharply with the coolness of the air, made my skin pebble, and a small shiver ran through me.  One side of Sean’s full mouth curled upwards, a cruel, knowing twist.

I didn’t know what was happening to me, but I knew that whatever it was, it had to stop.  It felt too…
good
.

I jerked myself back, only just realizing that I had unconsciously been inching towards Sean’s sinful body, as though the heat in me was drawn to the dark flame in him.

He blinked as I snapped whatever was building between us, his eyes cooling as they filled with confusion.

“You should get some rest,” I said again.  I meant to sound authoritative, but my voice was ragged with some strange emotion that I couldn’t identify.

“Claudia…”  The way he said my name, with that alluring, enigmatic lilt, made me want to shiver again, but I resolutely held it back.  He trailed off, not finishing whatever it was that he was going to tell me.  I peeked at him out of the corner of my eye and noticed that his eyes were closed, his muscles tense as he took a deep breath.  The act made his mouth tighten in pain, but he made no sound of discomfort.  A little furrow persisted between his brows, but after long moments it eased, his breaths coming more evenly as his body relaxed.  Despite the intensity of our altercation, the drugs had pulled him under as he had attempted to calm himself.  And I was grateful for that.

What was wrong with me?  I should feel nothing but hatred for this man who was holding me against me will; I certainly shouldn’t be feeling… whatever that was that he had made me feel.  A shadow of the flames that had licked at me flitted across my skin as I looked down at his sleeping form.  He looked… well, not harmless, but certainly not evil.  Unlike Bradley, he did seem to care if I lived or died, but he was also fiercely insistent that I not be allowed to leave.

What had I witnessed that made me so dangerous?  Well, for one, I could report Bradley for kidnapping me.  And I supposed that for all of my promises that I wouldn’t tell anyone, I would probably turn on Bradley as soon as humanly possible.  But what about Sean?  Would I turn him over to the police?  After he had saved me from Bradley?  And why hadn’t he been able to go to the hospital in the first place?  Why kidnap a doctor? 

There was only one logical answer to that: Sean was a criminal. 
Potentially a dangerous one.

Something about the idea didn’t sit right with me.  It was easy to envision Bradley leading a life of crime; he had proven his indifference for my life time and again.  But Sean seemed… well, I wouldn’t say sweet, but at least humane. 
And passionately so.  I thought of the intensity in his eyes when he had stared Bradley down, refusing to let him murder me.  I had seen that intensity again just now, only when it had been turned on me, it did decidedly funny things to my thought processes.

And then there was the Sean who was a boyish flirt.  I thought of how he had called me “gorgeous” and couldn’t help flushing in pleasure.

I shook myself quickly.  Why was I reacting this way to my jailor?  It was twisted and wrong; everything within me was telling me that I was rapidly developing Stockholm Syndrome, becoming attached to Sean because he had proven to be my protector from Bradley.

Besides,
I thought darkly as my eyes roved over him again,
it doesn’t hurt that he’s easily the hottest man I’ve ever seen naked.  Well,
I blushed,
half-naked.

To be honest, I hadn’t seen
any
man in this state of undress since before med school.  I was probably only so strongly affected by his physique because I had gone without sex for seven years.

Seven years. 
God, it sounded so pathetic when I thought about it in concrete terms.

I just haven’t had time for that,
I assured myself, only making me sound even more pathetic.

I tore my eyes from him, forcing my gaze to fall somewhere – anywhere – else.  The first thing I focused on was the window.  Could I escape through it?  Peering out of it, my heart sank as I realized that I was far too high up to leave that
way, and there was no fire escape to climb down.  It seemed that my only hope would be the living room window, and that would be guarded by Bradley.

Shit.

I sighed heavily.  I guessed I would have to find something to occupy my time until I could devise a way to get around Bradley and get to that window.

I eyed the chest of drawers.  I suddenly felt very unkempt, decidedly uncomfortable in the clothes that I had slept in.  Maybe Sean had some sweats or at least a t-shirt I could borrow.

What, you want to wear his clothes now? 
I thought disparagingly at myself.  But I’m a bit of a neat freak, and I was uncomfortable in my rumpled shirt and slacks.  I opened the middle drawer and found a stack of t-shirts; I didn’t dare open the top one in case I found his boxer shorts.

Or does he wear briefs? 
I wondered, my hand reaching for the drawer’s brass handle.  I jerked it back quickly, shaking myself.

Choosing to ignore my irrational acti
on, I pulled out a white t-shirt.  I shot a glance at Sean, not wanting him to see me changing, but he was clearly out.  Still, I changed as fast as I could, covering myself quickly.  The shirt nearly swallowed me whole, falling almost halfway down my thighs.  Sean’s musculature clearly filled out a shirt.  I inhaled deeply, sampling his musky, masculine scent that clung to the clothing.  It was intoxicating.

I shook myself again and instead turned my mind to finding some sweatpants.  I reached for the bottom drawer, where I would have kept my own slacks.  Only when I went to pull it open, it seemed to be stuck.  I jerked at the handle hard, but it didn’t budge.  It was then that I noticed the small keyhole set into the dark wood; the drawer was clearly locked.  My curiosity was piqued.

I wonder what he keeps in there…

No.  I didn’t care.  I jerked open another drawer, perhaps a bit harder than was strictly necessary.  There: sweatpants.  I pulled them on hastily
and tightened the drawstring, shoving the locked drawer from my mind.

My eyes flitted to the bookshelf that sat flush with the wall beside the bed.  In fact, it was the only piece of furniture in the room other than the bed and the chest of drawers.  Now that I really noticed it, I was struck by how large it was.  Even when I stood, the top shelf still sat higher than the top of my head, and I’m not a short woman.

On the top shelf, there were maybe a dozen books on carpentry.  Some of them were how-to manuals, but it seemed that several of them were coffee-table books, volumes that celebrated woodworking as an art form.

I found myself glancing over at Sean. 
I wonder if he knows how to…

I cut off that line of thinking, turning my attention back to the bookshelf.  The rest of the shelves were filled by Fantasy novels.  There were your classics like
The Lord of the Rings
, but I was surprised to find
Harry Potter
tucked in next to
The Wheel of Time
series.

Why, Sean,
I thought with a small smile,
it seems you’re a bit of a nerd.

My eyes were drawn to him again, more appraising this time.  He had struck me as a cocky playboy, had intimidated me as a dangerous criminal, but it seemed that there was another layer to this enigma of a man.  I had thought that looking over the bookshelf would distract me from him, but it had only intrigued me more.

I absently ran my fingers along the spines, feeling the cracks in the bindings where Sean must have folded the books back on themselves while he read.  I stopped at a particularly worn novel, squinting curiously at the title.  The spine was so destroyed that the words were completely obscured.  It seemed Sean had read this one over and over again.  My curiosity piqued, I pulled it down from the shelf. 
A Game of Thrones
by George R. R. Martin.

The title seemed vaguely familiar; I was fairly sure that this had been made into a TV series.  But I didn’t allow myself time for TV, so I couldn’t be sure.  In fact, I hadn’t had time to read a book for pleasure in years.  Every time I picked up a book these days, it was to study.

But it seemed that now I had nothing but free time, and there weren’t any medical books on the shelf.  So I carefully settled myself down on the bed, putting as much space between myself and Sean as I could manage, and I began to read.