Chapter 8

Allie didn't say anything as Jay ushered her down the hallway into the master bedroom. She'd known that she was sleeping in his bedroom over the past weeks. At first she'd been too injured to move. Then she decided she was comfortable and she could just move later. Now she wished she'd moved as soon as she had realized whose room she was in. But a part of her had been thrilled that she was in Jay's room, sharing his things.

Not that Jay had many things. His room was sparse, just the way he would have liked it. Jay didn't like being surrounded by things. There was only a bed and a dresser in the vast room made up of doors and windows. Now the giant, dominant bed loomed large in her view.

Allie whirled around to confront Jay, who stood between her and the door. He was eerily still and watchful, as always. Jay had a knack for looking like a predator that could read minds.

"I… I'd like to switch rooms please," Allie said in what she hoped was a strong voice, but suspected was more on the pleading side.

"No," he said.

"I'm not staying here with you," Allie argued, swinging her hand around the room.

He didn't say anything, just watched her as she paced in agitation. She was beginning to realize why Greg thought it best to go on vacation. He knew this clash was inevitable. Hell, they all knew Jay had brought her here for a reason. What Allie didn't know was the parameters of her new relationship with Jay or how far he would go to possess her.

You don't know what you want either, her torturous mind whispered. Where did her feelings begin and her morals end?

Allie let out a choking sob and tried to lunge past Jay. He stepped back and easily blocked the door. He didn't grab her, but she wasn't able to get past him. She balled her hands into fists and raised them to press against his chest. She shoved, but he didn't move. She tried valiantly to get around him, but nothing she did budged him from his position in the doorway. Finally she gave up, feeling like a child being unfairly punished. Slowly she backed up, her face red from exertion.

Her eyes fell on one of the patio doors and she lunged toward it. Calmly, he followed behind her. Before she could get the latch open he lifted her bodily off the floor with an arm around her waist and hauled her back toward the bed. She struggled in his arms, wiggling against his body in an effort to be free. Now that she knew the patio door was a possibility, she was going to get to it.

Jay growled in annoyance and flung her backwards on the bed. She landed hard on top of the mattress, her head bouncing against the pillows. He came down heavily on top of her, pinning her to the mattress. Allie shrieked and began fighting, but Jay clearly had a lot more fighting experience than her. Within seconds he had her entire body pinned down and her head yanked back painfully with a fistful of hair.

Allie cried out and stopped fighting him. She lay in frozen terror underneath his him, feeling every inch of his heavy frame against her softness. The hand that wasn't holding her head back had one of her wrists twisted over her head in a cruel grip that brought tears to her eyes. Allie was shocked. Jay had never hurt her before. Not even when he had play fought with her as a child and he'd been so much bigger than her. He'd always pulled his punches.

Her breath came out in terrified pants, which smashed her full breasts into his chest. She didn't want to look at him, but he gave her no choice. He made no move to release her and he didn't speak. Finally, her eyes drifted up to his. She flinched at the blazing mixture of anger and lust she saw reflected in their grey depths.

"Do you know why I wasn't touching you when you were trying to get out the bedroom door, Allie?" he asked from between gritted teeth.

"No," she whispered.

"Because," he growled down at her, "I wanted to be gentle with you, and I knew if I put my hands on you like this, while you were trying to run away from me, I wouldn't be able to be gentle."

"Oh god," she whimpered. "Don't do this, Jay!"

He shook his head and bent to kiss her jaw, running his lips over the delicate skin until he reached the particularly sensitive area behind her ear. She shivered and lifted her shoulder protectively. He used his grip on her hair to force her head back so he could have better access. She moaned as he ravished her tender skin with lips and tongue, coaxing her body into a response he knew she felt only for him.

"You want this as much as I do Allie," he said against her, releasing her wrist and reaching down her body to finally touch the woman that had been denied to him for over a decade. "We're going to be together for the rest of our lives. I won't stay away from you any longer, I'm done waiting for what's mine."

"No, Jay!" Allie cried out, twisting in his arms, gasping at the intense sensations that swamped her. "I'm still married to Derrick!"

She felt the terrible wrath seconds before Jay's long fingers wrapped around her arms in a crushing grip and brought her up the few inches off the bed until her lips were millimetres from his. She gasped and would have screamed, but his words cut her off.

"Don't you dare say his fucking name in my bed again. You are no longer married to that motherfucker. I severed that tie two weeks ago. Do you understand?"

Allie shook her head in confusion. "How can that be possible without signing…?"

"It's done, Allie. Suffice it to say I have powerful friends. Now, enough talk, I've waited long enough for you," he snapped, letting her fall back onto the bed.

She cried out, suddenly frightened by the incredible strength she was witnessing. He'd held her up like she weighed nothing at all and it didn't phase him one bit. He'd tossed her on the bed as though she were a rag doll and held her down with ease. She was beginning to realize exactly what kind of strength and determination his lean muscles hid. She'd assumed she would be able to reason with Jay, that his former regard for her would keep him at bay until she eventually got what she wanted from him; her freedom.

As she lay helplessly underneath him, she realized she was wrong. Jay's friendship for her had twisted somewhere along the way, had darkened into something savage. She wouldn't be able to reason with him. She would have to endure him until she found a way to escape.

With swift efficiency, he began pulling her clothes off, starting with her T-shirt, then her leggings, her underwear and her bra. Allie was left breathless and frightened by the time he was done. She grabbed the blanket and rolled away as soon as he took his hands off of her in an attempt to cover her nudity. Furious tears sparkled in her eyes, any arousal she may have felt fading in the face of his cold-blooded actions.

He kneeled on the bed and watched her through steel grey eyes before unbuttoning his dress shirt and peeling it off, baring his own torso to her gaze. At first, Allie's panicked eyes could only take in the ridges of muscle backing up his incredible strength and mocking her own pathetic attempts to fight him. After a moment she finally saw the faded ink over his left pectoral muscle, over his heart. Gradually her constricted throat eased and her gasps slowed as her eyes narrowed on his skin. She reached out hesitantly toward his chest.

He captured her hand and dragged her forward, pulling her protesting toward his lap. She still clutched the edge of her blanket desperately over her breasts, but the rest of her brown curves were bared to him. She twisted sideways in an attempt to hide her most private parts from him. He ignored her struggles and took her wrist in his hand, forced her hand open and placed the palm over his bared chest.

"Look," he said quietly.

Allie turned her head slowly, her wide eyes now inches from the masculine cords of his throat. She gasped as she saw the tattoo over his heart. It said "Allison."