A Silent Reckoning: Sinner's Empire by Nikita Slater (world best books to read .TXT) 📕

He was truly a beautiful man.

He was also a kidnapper.

“Don’t do that again.” She hardened her voice and kept her gaze on his face.

He scowled, his eyes travelling down the sheet swimming around her body. It was huge, large enough for the king-sized bed, so he would barely be able to see the outline of her body. He stared at her, not bothering to communicate. He was going to leave the bulk of this conversation to her.

Very well, Shaun could hold her own.

“You don’t get to have sex with me right now. As far as I’m concerned, you don’t get my consent until I’m no longer a kidnap victim.” She stared at him for a few seconds, giving him the opportunity to join the conversation.

His hands didn’t move, but his look became scornful, speaking eloquently for a man who didn’t speak for himself.

“No,” she repeated. “Orgasms don’t make it okay to have sex with me without my permission. You bringing me here against my will is the opposite of consent.”

He made an annoyed sound and stepped out of the water, toward the edge of the shower, his body language threatening.

Shaun refused to back down.

“If you want to have any kind of a meaningful relationship with me, then you won’t do it again.” She paused, waiting for the words to sink in. “If you want nothing more than a mindless sex doll with nothing else to contribute, then you’ll have a hell of a fight on your hands.” He growled a warning at her that only served to piss her off more. She pointed at him, then dropped her hand to point at his cock. “I know how to surgically remove your body parts, so you better decide if it’s worth going to war with me.”

Surprisingly, his cock jumped in response to her vicious words as though excited by the prospect of a fight. Jozef looked less agreeable, his thick dark brows drawn low over his eyes. She glared back at him refusing to drop her steady gaze.

When she figured enough time had passed that her point was made, she turned and walked away, saying over her shoulder, “And stop fucking me without protection! We don’t need to add a baby to this fucked up whatever it is.”

She didn’t get to leave the bathroom. In a rush of hard male flesh, Jozef gripped her around the waist, picked her up and swung her around. He dragged her into the shower, uncaring of the now soaked sheet clinging to her body.

“Don’t you dare – ”

His lips smashed into hers in a kiss that spoke of frustration and anger. He didn’t bother to coax a response from her but pushed her lips apart with his. The kiss was both passionate and forceful as he attempted to show her he could use brute force if she resisted.

It went on and on until she couldn’t stand it, shoving her fists against his shoulders and whimpering into his mouth. Finally, he lifted his head and looked down at her. She expected to see anger, a point proven; his strength was much greater than hers, he could force her compliance. Instead, his expression reflected the vulnerability she felt. He didn’t know what he was doing any more than she did, but he knew she was right. Sex wouldn’t solve what was wrong between them.

She slid under his arm and walked dripping from the washroom.

Chapter Twelve

Shaun was nervous.

Jozef had informed her that morning, before leaving to work with his men for the rest of the day, that they would be spending their evening at the Koba estate. Shaun had tried to ask questions, to find out if they would be safe in the mansion, but Jozef had brushed her off, his demeanour distracted, and had left the apartment.

Shaun had spent her day pacing and worrying, wishing she had a phone so she could call Saskia. The younger woman would have no problem giving Shaun the low-down on what to expect. Did the Kobas hate her for ultimately doing what they’d feared she would do; tear their family apart? It didn’t matter that it had never been her intention, or that she’d been dragged into the family against her will.

She looked at Jozef out of the corner of her eye. He was driving, his brow wrinkled in concentration. She didn’t think he was engrossed in the drive but was thinking of whatever he’d done during the day when they were apart. She’d tried asking him while they were getting changed, but he shook his head and refused to talk.

There was a new distance between them that hadn’t been there before their kiss in the shower. She supposed reality had finally sunk in for Jozef. He was holding a woman captive and forcing her into a relationship with him. She wondered if he’d thought their love for each other could overcome any obstacle and was now learning otherwise. Shaun was a realist; at no point did she think their relationship stood a chance. Not when he’d taken her from Ukraine and certainly not now.

She would be lying if she said a part of her wasn’t happy to see him when he showed up in the hospital a few days ago. Her body and heart sang when he was near, as if she and Jozef could transcend everything else and be happy. But logical Shaun wouldn’t allow it.

Jozef pulled into the long driveway leading to the Koba mansion, ignoring the guard at the gate who waved him in. Their escort of Havel, Karl, Halil and a man named Cooper were in the vehicle behind them. Jozef had chosen to drive his own car, a silver Bugatti sports car.

Shaun knew nothing about cars, but she knew enough to realize that Jozef’s car was both very expensive and brand new. It looked as though it had been driven out of a showroom that morning. It made her even more curious about the state of the Koba organization. How did