Page 40 of Ash Storm

Ash

Ash felt her weight shift an instant before her knee slammed between his legs.

He turned slightly sideways, catching the blow on his thigh—painful, but not incapacitating the way the alternative would have been.

He grunted, feeling inordinately proud of her.

This woman’s made of courage.

He moved his hands to her arms, easily holding them to the side.

He was pretty sure somebody would be watching. Junior, for sure. Maybe Afsan himself, or that English buddy of his.

“I need you to speak with you, and while I do so, you need to act like you’re fighting me. They will be watching us.”

“What—“

“I swear to you I’m not going to hurt you, Reka.”

That stopped her in her tracks.

“You know my name.”

And he debated for a moment how much to tell her. Telling her too much could ruin everything. But, at the same time, he couldn’t bear to see her so scared. And he also couldn’t do what he had to do if she wasn’t with him on this.

He weighed the pros and cons quickly in his mind, and in the end, went with his gut.

She’s strong enough to hear what you have to say.

But first things first.

“Are you hurt?” he whispered, struggling to keep his voice even.

“What—“

“Did they hurt you?”

She shook her head from side to side. Some of the tension and fear leaked from his body.

“My name is Ash,” he said. “Your uncle sent me to get you out of here.”

Her eyes rose to his, still hooded but now shiny with hope.

Hope wasn’t good. Hope could get them killed really fucking fast. Right now, his taller form still shielded her from the camera, but they couldn’t stay here forever.

They would be expecting him to fuck her.

“I’m going to take you to bed. Keep fighting me.”

Ash saw every single feeling flitting through her face—the hope, the fear, the despair. He steeled himself against what he was going to do.

He pulled both her wrists over her head and held them easily in his left hand, using his right hand to rip her dress off her shoulders, past her waist, until the material pooled at her feet.

He took a step back and made a show of moving his head so the camera behind him would see him staring up and down her body, even though in reality he kept his eyes averted from her nakedness.

She cried out and pulled against his hands. Ash allowed one of her hands to go free for an instant. She slapped him, turning his head sideways, then came back to scratch down his cheek.

Ash winced. It was exactly what he’d been hoping for, and it would help sell their story. And damned if he wasn’t impressed.