Rebecca Zanetti: Fated

“Wait, no, Mama,” Janie cried out, pulling on her mother. “I need Mr. Mullet.” Her voice rose to a shrill sob.

Talen whirled around and squinted over Cara’s shoulder. “Mr. Mullet?” He eyed the living room entrance and then focused on the little girl.

Cara pressed a hand against his chest, settling her stance to protect her child. “Mr. Mullet is her stuffed bear—she doesn’t go anywhere without him.” If Janie could leave the room, Cara could really fight.

Talen raised an eyebrow, his gaze thoughtful. “Hurry, Janie. Get the bear—we have to go.”

Quick as a flash, Janie darted from the room. Dark eyes met Cara’s and she wavered, then shot her knee upward to his groin, simultaneously punching her fist toward his face with a fierce grunt.

He shifted, allowing her knee to connect to the muscle of his upper thigh while his arm shot out to stop her punch. His broad hand enclosed her 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 her leg, and fear cascaded down her spine. Panting out breath, she waited for retaliation. If he hit her, he’d knock her out. What about Janie?

Talen tilted his head to the side, his hand warm around hers. “Is your leg all right?”

He asked about her leg? Seriously? She’d just tried to turn him into a eunuch. “Fine,” she hissed through her teeth.

“Hmmm,” he said, twisting his hand to grasp her wrist and yank her 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.

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

“I got him, Mama,” Janie 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, Cara began to struggle again. With an exasperated sigh, Talen dropped the basket of clothes, shifted her to the side, and lifted Janie into his arms.

“No!” Cara cried out, reaching for her daughter before pounding on his broad back. Pure instinct moved her to protect Janie, and rage choked her as she 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.

Cara threw herself against the man holding her child, knocking over the basket. Clothes scattered across the wooden planks.

“Let her go, you bastard!”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“Don’t scream.” His voice had deepened to something guttural, something that added to the fluttering in her lower stomach.

“Mama?” Janie’s voice wavered from inside the vehicle.

“She can’t see us—I have the privacy screens up,” Talen murmured.

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

“Tell her it’s all right.” He released Cara’s hair to allow space between them.

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

He grinned, amusement softening his hard mouth. Releasing her, he yanked open the passenger side door and lifted her inside, snapping the seat belt before she could blink. Then his face was in hers again. “Undo this belt and I’ll bind you.”

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

With a screech of tires, he pulled the Hummer into the quiet street. She searched frantically for some type of weapon. Mere minutes had passed since Janie had awoken her—they were taken so quickly, nobody would even know they were gone. She flashed her 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. She studied him, searching for a weakness. Any weakness.

“Janie, you’ll be safe soon.” Kindness wove through his words.

Cara swung her head around. “It’s going to be okay, Janie,” she whispered to her daughter, fighting tears.

Janie, her blue eyes sparkling, grinned back. “I know, Mama. I knew Talen was coming.”

“You did?”

“Yeah. I dreamed 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.

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

“I’m not going to hurt you, Cara.” He entered the empty highway.

She worried her lip with her teeth. Miss Kimmie would be the first to know they were gone when Janie didn’t show up for preschool tomorrow. She’d call someone, right? Or just assume Janie was home sick with the stomach virus going around the class? “So how about you let us go, um, Talen?” She wondered if he were crazy, if she could somehow reason with him.

He flashed her a glance at the use of his name and heat rushed to her face. “I can’t let you go.”

Nope, no reasoning with him. “Why not?” She slid her hand down to her belt buckle.

“I wasn’t kidding about binding you.” His warning rumbled through the small space. She jerked her hand back to her lap. “You’re in danger, more than you can understand right now.”