Chapter 5

Shania jerked awake when she heard the swoosh of the penthouse elevator doors. Somehow she had fallen asleep. Not so surprising considering the hours of heightened anxiety, combined with her frantic search of every inch of the penthouse for an escape route. She had discovered only a locked door leading to what she thought were stairs and another door that opened to an incredible outdoor patio, complete with infinity pool.

Shania rolled off the couch and stumbled to her feet, silently preparing herself for another battle with her captor. She squared her shoulders and looked toward the elevator. She frowned and gripped the edge of the sofa as two men she had never seen before entered the suite.

One was about her height and burly, especially in the chest and upper arms. He was carrying a tray of food in one hand and a suitcase in the other. He nodded in her direction and carried the food to the counter in the kitchen. Relieving himself of the tray, he turned to her.

Shania shrank back, an incredible sense of vulnerability washing over her.

He introduced himself as Ash, and placed a suitcase that she recognized as hers on the floor. "Some of your things," he said shortly, then jerked his head toward the shorter man still standing near the elevator door. "Vincent Massey. He'll be your doctor."

Shania gaped from one man to the other and backed up even more. A doctor? Why on Earth would she need?

She saw the somewhat pitying, clinical look on the doctor's face. Understanding flooded her, along with a tidal wave of colour, turning her dusky skin a deep shade of red.

"I don't need a a doctor," she stammered.

"Bosses orders," grunted Ash.

Shania shook her head. "No, I really don't want to see a doctor. Please tell tell Khalid for me. I don't want a stranger touching me."

The hulking man just shrugged and turned to leave. "Not smart," he snorted. Apparently disobeying the boss' orders was rather dumb. Not that she was surprised. Khalid's power in the casino was unlimited.

She lifted her chin. She didn't care. If she had any say, she wouldn't be here long enough to find out just how far the man's power extended. "Take the food with you," she said in as commanding a voice as she could manage. "I don't want anything he has to offer."

Ten minutes later, Khalid found himself once more riding the elevator to the penthouse. Her words, faithfully repeated to him by an amused Ash, echoed in his head. Truthfully, he was also somewhat amused. The sweet little woman ensconced in his suite persisted in pushing his buttons and ignoring all signs of his authority. He doubted she even realized she was doing it. To Khalid, it felt like foreplay.

"Shania," he said sharply as he stepped off the elevator.

She jumped and turned from her spot by the windows. She had been gazing out at the city lights. The casino was several miles away from the city, located on the outskirts of the county. The city lights beckoned like distant stars, just out of reach.

He glanced sharply toward the kitchen. True to Ash's words, she hadn't touched her food. He didn't want to threaten her again, not when she was looking so fragile, but he didn't know how to get her to take care of herself. And for some reason it was vitally important to him that this woman be cared for. He rubbed a hand through his short hair and approached her slowly, stopping several feet from her. She watched him warily.

"You should eat something."

She shook her head slightly and stared hard at the floor. "I'm not hungry," she said softly.

"Shania." She looked up at her name. He caught her gaze and held it. "This isn't a temporary situation, princess. You aren't leaving any time soon, so there's no point in rejecting the food I provide for you."

She stood silently for a minute and then nodded slightly.

"The doctor?" she asked.

Khalid knew she had to suspect the necessity of a physician. A beautiful shade of red darkened her cheeks and she dropped her eyes from his. He had hoped she would just meekly go along with his orders. He should have known better. With a sigh, he waved his hand toward the sofa and instructed her to sit down. She obeyed, likely due to the extreme fatigue she was feeling after the night's events.

"Your husband was cheating on you," Khalid said, wanting to get the painful admission over with so she could start to heal. She flinched but didn't look surprised. So she had probably suspected the bastard.

She nodded. "And you want to make sure I don't have any diseases before sampling the merchandise," she said bitterly.

Shania gasped as Khalid reached out, grabbed her wrist and dragged her bodily across the length of the sofa towards him. He gripped both of her wrists in one of his hands and spread his legs, sliding her body onto his. She struggled pathetically for a moment, but she was far too tired to put up a fight against his superior strength.

He tucked a lock of her shiny black hair back behind her ear and leaned over to press his lips against her throat just under her ear. Shania tried to jerk back, but he held her tightly. She felt the burn of his lips straight through to her bones. He trailed hot kisses down the column of her throat to the shoulder of her jacket and back up to her ear.

Shania moaned, partly in distress and partly at the sensations he was arousing on her sensitive skin.

"Shania." He said her name with soft intensity. "What will happen between us is inevitable, despite your history with Aiden Galveston. Do you understand this?"

She lay frozen against his body, feeling the brand of his erection between her belly and her breasts. She felt the inevitability of their relationship on a primitive level. She was his captive, to do whatever he wanted with.

Shania nodded, causing his lips to brush her jaw.

"Good girl," he said in a deepening voice. "It's much better for you if you're co-operative. I want you to see the doctor because it's the right thing to do and because the thought of your husband coming to your bed tainted makes me want to rip his arms off and beat him to death with them. If you weren't harmed by his stupidity, then I may let him leave my city with all limbs intact."

Shania shivered again, her golden eyes searching his. The dramatic statement said with such cold-blooded intent terrified her. Without knowing the man, she sensed that Khalid was more than capable of following through on any threats he made. Which made her captivity much more real. He was going to do with her exactly as he threatened.

"Please," she whispered, "don't hurt me."

Khalid seemed somewhat taken aback by her plea. He moved so he could look at her and examined her face carefully, searching for her meaning. She was an intelligent, if somewhat na?ve woman. She tested him. But not beyond his limits. Rubbing a thumb across her cheekbone he said, "It's not my intent to hurt you, Shania."

She nodded, but her face still held a hint of concern. "I saw what you did to Aiden with my own eyes, and I believe you're very capable of hurting him further. Even killing if you felt it was necessary."

His brows drew together and his hold on her wrists tightened. "You aren't Aiden, or some cheating card player. I have no reason to hurt you."

"But you plan on keeping me here, which is hurtful in itself. I have a life, maybe not much of one in your eyes, but it means something to me," she said quietly. "And I think you could hurt me if you felt justified. If if I defied you in some way and you felt justified, you could hurt me. It may be inevitable that we have this relationship together, but I also think its inevitable that I'll say or do something, eventually, that will force your hand. You're a violent man, Khalid, and you inhabit a different world from me. The kind of person you are , the things you do , conflicts with who I am."

Khalid ran his thumb from her cheek down across her full lips, taking his time before answering her. "You are an astute woman, Shania. But you only make me want you more. It's our very differences that I find so... appealing."

"Please," she breathed, closing her eyes and allowing herself to indulge in the feeling of his light caress across her lips, "let me go."

Khalid's body tightened beneath hers, becoming harder against the softness of hers.

"Never," he snarled, gripping the crown of her head in one hand and forcing her face down to his.

Shania whimpered as his lips took possession of hers in a kiss meant to brand her. His mouth covered hers with a hungry ferocity that took everything from her without asking questions and without apology. He broke the kiss for only a moment to grip her waist in both hands, shifting her off of him and onto the couch as he pressed himself down on top of her.

Khalid didn't give her an opportunity to either deny or accept the kisses. He just took and took, forcing her head back until her jaw ached. When she pushed him back to gain some control over the savage possession, he shoved her arms over her head and pinned her wrists in one hand. His other hand moved to her jaw and, gripping it, tilted her head to give him better access to her mouth.

He ground his hips into the cradle of her thighs.

He continued to kiss her for several minutes before, finally, bringing himself back under control. "I will never let you go," he gritted into her ear. "Say you understand this."

For several breathless seconds, Shania lay silent beneath him, her head turned away from him. Finally, she jerked her head in a nod and whispered breathlessly, "Yes, I understand you."

Khalid sat up, pulling her with him. Now that he'd gotten his hands on her, he found he was loath to stop touching her. He stroked her back and hair in what he hoped was a soothing manner. He wasn't used to calming anyone. Usually his women were quick fucks. Rarely did he ever keep a woman for more than one night, and he never cared for their feelings, which is why he preferred no-strings sex to relationships. Now, he not only wanted to sooth a specific woman, he wanted to brand her so hard she wouldn't be able to walk away from him.

He didn't even care that it was out of character.

He didn't care that he virtually kidnapped her and forced her compliance.

Maybe it was love at first sight. He didn't care. He was keeping Shania.

Taking in her drawn features and the tremble of her lips, he decided to give her space. Releasing her, he stood up. "It's time for you to go to bed."

She gasped and cringed back into the cushions of the couch.

Khalid shoved a hand impatiently through his hair. "Much as I would like to take you to my bed, I did promise to give you time to get used to the situation. I want you to understand that I keep my word, Shania. As long as you're co-operative, I will leave you alone, until you wish it otherwise."

She raised wide amber eyes to his and nodded, smiling slightly. "Thank you," she said huskily.

Fuck, Khalid thought. For some reason her quiet words gutted him. She was thanking him for not raping her. He wanted to give her the world, show her every kindness his black heart was capable of, but she was thanking him for not brutalizing her.

"Come," he said sharply.

Shania stood to follow him as he reached for her suitcase and headed down the hall toward the bedrooms. She knew where they were from her earlier search of the condo. There was a large, masculine bedroom with heavy dark furniture and a king-sized bed with plush black and grey bedding.

Khalid bypassed the master bedroom and entered the guest room, located next to his private gym. It wasn't as big as the master bedroom, but it was big enough that Shania was pretty sure she could fit her bedroom at home, her bathroom and her kitchen into it. The thought had her stifle a giggle, which made her realize how tired she really was. The queen-sized four-poster bed, covered in a beige and yellow quilt, called to her.

Khalid set her suitcase on the floor beside her.

"There's a bathroom through there." He indicated the closed door that must lead to a small ensuite. "Everything you need should be in there."

"For your other girlfriends?" she asked. Her eyes widened and she gasped, not believing she had said something so stupid out loud. "I'm sorry," she said quickly, "I didn't mean that. I must be more tired than I thought."

Khalid nodded thoughtfully, seeming not at all perturbed by her careless question. He shrugged. "This room is largely unused, actually, but I keep it stocked just in case."

Shania bit her tongue, she really did, but she couldn't hold back another idiotic comment. "Just in case you plan on blackmailing and kidnapping someone? Wouldn't want your victim to be uncomfortable."

His thick brow raised sharply and he took a step toward her, taking her chin in a tight grip. "My victim," he stressed the word, "had better watch her mouth before I deem her uncooperative and chain her to my bed where I will have her at my beck and call."

Shania glowered at him, but remained quiet. There was no point in antagonizing him. He clearly planned on giving her the time he thought she needed to adjust to the situation. Time she could use to plan a way to get out of the casino and far, far away from him.