Read Online Enslaved (Devil's Kiss) by Gemma James - Free Book Online

apologize, but you wouldn’t answer your phone, and you haven’t been at the hospital . . .” He inched back and looked at me. “You’ve had me really worried.”
    “I’m fine.”  
    “No, you’re not. Is it Rick? I saw him at the hospital Saturday.”
    His words turned my blood to ice. “What?” I gripped his shoulders as panic took hold of me. “Rick was there?” Impossible. He’d been arrested twice already for violating the restraining order. I hadn’t seen or heard from him in over a year—I’d figured he’d finally gotten the message.
    Ian opened his mouth, appearing to struggle for words. “I . . . I always got the impression he didn’t treat you good, but you wouldn’t talk to me, and then you moved and changed your number, and when I did manage to track you down, he made it clear you wanted nothing to do—”  
    “Wait—you came to see me? When?”  
    “About three years ago.”
    I shuddered. Rick’s rage made more sense now. The final and last beating had been the most brutal, and he’d almost killed me in the end. “Let’s go inside. It’s freezing out here.”  
    “I wasn’t sure you’d let me in.”  
    “I wasn’t planning to, but I’ve already broken the rules—” And now I’d said too much; going down that path would lead straight to the subject of Gage’s contract.  
    Ian shut the door. “What rules?”
    “My rules,” I said quickly. “I don’t want complications in my life right now. Eve is the only one who matters.”  
    “Of course she is,” he whispered, and I suddenly found myself between him and the door. He encased me in his arms, and his breath drifted across my face as he leaned in. “She’s your daughter. But you’re a horrible liar, Kayla. You about shatter every time I see you. You’re nervous all the time, constantly looking over your shoulder.”  
    I was? I thought I’d hidden my inner turmoil better than that.  
    “Is Rick harassing you? How bad was it?”
    I focused on his mouth, because looking into his eyes hurt too much. “Bad. Really bad.”  
    He dropped his forehead against mine. “I should’ve done something. I suspected he was controlling, and you’d mentioned how possessive—”  
    “Going back to him was the worst mistake of my life.”  
    “Letting you go was the worst mistake of mine.” He dipped his head, and I stilled, barely breathing.  
    “Don’t.”  
    “Why?”
    “Because I’m not free to be with you right now.” I was terrified. Ian and I were about to cross a line. He was a part of my past, a place where he should stay. And me? I was enslaved—literally—to a man who liked to play with my head.  
    “Kayla, talk to me.”
    I gripped his waist, wanting to keep him close even though I needed to send him packing. “I can’t. You need to go.”
    “Like hell I do.” His mouth claimed mine, and he assaulted me with the kind of hair-tingling kiss that meant something. His hands were everywhere, pulling me close at the small of my back, tangling in my hair, palming my breasts. His erection strained against my stomach, and I tore my mouth from his with a small cry.
    “Stop.” This was impossible. I couldn’t do this.  
    But then I was kissing him again. He groaned and hoisted me against him. I wrapped my legs around him, and our clothing provided the only barrier between us.  
    “Shit, Kayla . . .” He buried his face in the hollow of my shoulder and moved against me.  
    “Ian . . . stop.”  
    “Don’t ask me to stop . . . please don’t.” He fastened his mouth over mine again, silencing my protests.
    I was in a daze, until the feel of his hands on my thighs evaporated the fog. I pushed him away, hard enough to make him stumble. “I said stop!”
    His expression crumbled, and he slid to the floor, holding his head in his hands. “I’m sorry.”  
    Shame, swift and intense, clung to me like Ian’s scent did. How could I go from wanting Gage to wanting Ian in the space of two