Captive Heart: The Dangerous CEO's Trap

cent opene

th tasted like stale alcohol and regret. She tried to si

fr

d. The sunlight filtering through the sheer curtains of the

ge of his nose. The dark, messy hair

e blood drained from her fac

Bryon

the Wall Street Journal. More terrifyingly, he was the older brother of Ai

ered the charity gala last night. She remembered her boyfriend, Emery, ignoring her to flirt wi

rough hands, the smell of cedar an

so hard she tasted copper

meter, lifted his heavy, muscular arm off her waist. H

runt. His dark eyebro

e stopped breathing entirely. Her

The steady rhythm of h

sive bed. Her bare feet hit the thick carpet. She looked aro

it up. Three buttons were missing, the fabric torn near th

sound of a housekeeping cart

e torn collar together with one hand. She found her skirt and stepped

ar the sofa. She dug inside for her phone. The screen

She looked back at the bed. Bryon Reeves

New York because she was sad about a mediocre boyfriend. She needed to make it clear that t

twenty-dollar bill. She walked back to the bed and p

ed the metal, a large, imp

ed around her wris

. She jerked

te-gray eyes. There was no sleep in th

landing hard on the soft mattress. Before she could push herself up

rs. She could feel the stead

looked at the twenty-dollar bill. A

s a low, gravelly rumble tha

ye. Her chest heaved. "It's for your servi

s jaw tightened. He reached up and pinched her chin between

er at Northbridge Universit

. A cold sweat broke ou

, trying to slap his

e her head with one of his hands. His grip was unbreakable. He lea

y him off with twenty dollars?" he whispered. The threat in his to

ped struggling. She let her body g

relaxed jus

knee upward with all the strength she

ng the blow to his thigh instead of his stomach. His eyes dark

weight to roll off the bed. She stumbled

e sprinted for the heavy

dboard. He watched her frantic, messy escape. His eyes tracked the

ght hallway lights blinded her for a

shed a cart out. Brenda kept her head down, hiding her face, and shoved pa

shut, cutting off t

Her legs gave out. She slid down to the floor, pulling her

dollar bill. He walked over to the floor-to-ceiling win

otel phone and dia

ered, his voice flat and cold. "And contact Northbridge University. I am ta

her torn blouse. She pushed through the revolving doors

e backseat and locked the

She closed her eyes, thinking she had jus