Sawyer snapped her mouth shut not about to challenge him when they were both still naked.
“Let me go.”
Kaden moved to her side and Sawyer turned to swim to the steps to get out of the pool. Kaden forestalled her, though; his arm going around her waist, lifting her back against him, his cock nestled against her ass.
“Run away, Sawyer. You’re good at that.” His hand glided between her thighs, brushing against her pussy.
Shuddering, Sawyer held herself still in his hold while his thumb brushed through her curls.
“I want this shaved. If you haven’t taken care of it by the next time I fuck you, then I’ll do it myself.”
Sawyer forced herself to break free from his hold. “Go drown yourself, Kaden.”
His mocking laughter followed her as she snatched up the towel she had brought outside and hastily wrapped it around herself before going in the house. She didn’t run, but she wanted to. She was determined not to give him the satisfaction of seeing her fleeing, however.
Inside, she showered and changed into her jeans and t-shirt, ignoring the more expensive clothes. She sat down on the side of the bed and buried her face in her hands. The longer she stayed, the more she felt an imaginary noose tightening around her neck.
Her mother had strangled any amount of freedom Sawyer could even think of having until her murder. She’d loved her mother and still missed her, but had always felt their relationship was abnormal, with the way her mother would react every time she went out the door. It had become so bad with her demands and manipulations that Sawyer had resented her.
Sawyer had fought too long and too hard not to cave in to her mother’s demands to let Kaden make her feel the same way.
She had to hold out against Kaden. Not only did he threaten to take away her hard won freedom, but he was also quickly guaranteeing that he would take her soul.
Chapter Twelve
Sawyer went back downstairs. Needing fresh air, she went out the front door, deciding to take a walk in the comfortable temperature. She walked down the driveway, enjoying the sunshine as the feeling of being confined began to evaporate.
Seeing the small guardhouse a few feet away, she belatedly remembered Kaden’s warning and decided to turn back. The sound of a car screeching and pulling into the driveway had her freezing until she heard the distinctive sound of gunfire.
Sawyer began running, veering away from the driveway. She ran as fast as she could. There were not many trees, so she had no place to hide on R.J.’s manicured lawn. She decided her only chance was to reach the safety of the house and she ran even faster.
Hearing footsteps approaching behind her, she began screaming. She couldn’t let the kidnappers take her again. She instinctively knew she wouldn’t survive that ordeal twice.
The footsteps were gaining on her.
“Kaden!”
The door slammed open and he came running outside. He sprinted toward her as she ran toward him. She had unwittingly placed him in danger with her recklessness. Sawyer ran as the man chased her with a gun. Kaden was unarmed, but that didn’t stop him from coming to her rescue. She picked up speed at the fear she had placed him in danger.
“Get to the house and lock the door,” he yelled as he rushed past her.
She kept running, hearing the heavy thump of bodies colliding; however, Sawyer didn’t stop until she had finally reached the door, slamming and locking it behind her. Running to the window, she saw Kaden and another man fighting. She looked around the room for a phone, not knowing what else to do to help Kaden.
When she couldn’t find one, she turned back to the window, seeing Kaden slamming his fist into the man’s face over and over. He tore the gun from the man’s hand then brought it down on his skull until he lay still on the ground.
The security guard ran to Kaden, pulling him off the limp body before tossing the intruder onto his stomach and handcuffing his hands behind his back. Kaden then got to his feet. Sawyer saw him speaking with the security guard before he turned and headed back toward the house, his face a mask of fury. Sawyer stood by the window until the hard slam of his fist hit the doorframe.
She went to the door, her fingers fumbling with the lock until the door finally opened and Kaden brushed angrily by her.
“What the fuck were you doing out there?”
Shocked and still frightened by her narrow escape, she had trouble getting the words out. “I—Ijust wa—wanted t—to go f—for a walk.” She was relieved when she finally managed to get the sentence out.
“You almost managed to get yourself kidnapped, Sawyer. Is that what you wanted?”
“N—n—no!”
“Why were you so close to the road?”
“I—Iwanted t—to g—o—go for... a… walk.” Sawyer took a deep breath, trying to get her stuttering back under control. It had been years since she had stuttered this badly. The years of speech therapy came back to her and she tried to gather her thoughts to gain control of her speech while Kaden stared at her as if she were crazy.
Sawyer belatedly realized it hadn’t been a wise decision. She had almost got herself kidnapped, and both Kaden and the security guard hurt.
“Go to your room, Sawyer. I’ll be up in a few minutes, but first I have to calm down. I told you not to leave the house, didn’t I?” Kaden said harshly.
“Yes, but I was only going for a walk.” She was proud of herself for not stuttering, but the way Kaden was gritting his teeth had her wishing she had remained silent.
“Go. Now. Before I paddle your ass here and now, without caring someone could walk in.”
“You’re not going to lay a hand on me.” Fire blazed out of her eyes.
“Do you fucking realize that Mike was shot in his shoulder?”
“W—what... I—I didn’t… know.”
“Well, now you do. Not only that, but he could have been killed, so could you and I.” By the time he referred to her, he was yelling.
Sawyer decided it was better to retreat to her room and give him a chance to calm down. She threw him a dirty look before she left though, which also wasn’t the smartest move; he made a move toward her, but her fleeing footsteps managed to satisfy him temporarily.
Sawyer slammed the door to her room. Too wired to sit down, she walked back and forth across the carpet, talking to herself, calling Kaden various names as they came to her. It was only when she really became inventive that she realized how childish she was being. Her shoulders slumped as she began feeling terrible that the security guard had gotten hurt. Kaden also had a bruise on his cheekbone where he had been struck.
She had been warned twice not to be in front of the house and she had ignored it both times. Her defiance of Kaden’s orders, when they had been made to protect her, caused a sick feeling in her stomach. He had been thrown into this situation because of her, and she had done nothing except give him trouble since the beginning.
Without his help, Sawyer knew her life would be one of hell, not living in luxury with a rock star trying to make her happy. He had tried to appease her about staying with the band and giving her a large sum of money, furnished her with expensive clothes, and even given her control of the kitchen, trying to relieve her boredom.
Sawyer’s head swung toward the doorway when the door opened, and Kaden came in with a hard expression. Sawyer swallowed hard.
“Take your clothes off, Sawyer.”
Sawyer started to refuse, but saw from his expression that he would take them off himself. She toed off her shoes then took off her jeans and t-shirt, standing before him in only her panties and bra.
“Everything.”
Sawyer bit down on her trembling lip and reached back, unsnapping her bra and letting it fall to the building pile of clothing at her feet. She slid her panties down her hips, removing them also.