7 Chapter 7

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Addison snapped crossly. She felt a hand reach out and give hers a quick squeeze and then it was gone. Claudia's idea of reassurance?

"I heard what you said to that other guy. You know where I live, which under any other circumstances would make me extremely uncomfortable. But since I just survived some kind of Wild West showdown, I'm just going to be grateful for my life and not question why you seem to know my name and apartment number. But I'll thank you to leave me the hell alone. I don't know you and I don't trust you."

Having said that, Addison would've loved to make a dignified exit. She turned to do just that, but tripped over something and slammed into the ridiculously hard body of Daniel Mercer. His arms closed around her and he set her back on her feet impatiently.

"You're coming with me," he growled, shifting his grip on her arm. She heard the ding of the leaving elevator.

Addison gasped, when without warning he began pulling her behind him toward the elevators. He stopped to pick something up and then waited for a free elevator. She burned to shout at him, but she was disoriented, upset, grateful for her life and battling a potential panic attack, which she hadn't suffered since childhood. She felt the whoosh of the arriving elevator and was about to step forward when he yanked her in behind him. She stumbled forward and impacted with his body once more.

Impatiently she stepped back and snapped, "It's rude to lead a blind person around like a cow or- or a dog!"

He didn't say anything for a minute. She felt his eyes on her and out of habit dropped her eyelids so he wouldn't have to look into her unfocused, empty eyes. She was surprised to feel a surge of anger from him and would have stepped back if he hadn't been holding her firmly in place.

"Is it also rude to save a blind woman's life?" he drawled insolently.

Addison felt her temper rise, and lifted her chin in response. What exactly was that supposed to mean? Did he expect something from her? Out loud she said, "I'm grateful to you for pulling me out of the way."

"Doesn't seem like it."

Addison drew her breath in sharply and counted to three. "Thank you very much, Mr. Mercer, for saving my life."

He didn't say anything. Instead, he took her arm once more in his too tight grip and stepped off the elevator with her when they arrived on her floor. She tugged impotently against his hold, but he ignored her. She was becoming angrier by the second. This man was completely barbaric! She was beginning to see exactly what Maestro meant.

She gasped when he pulled her purse away from her and opened it. "Hey!" she snapped, when she heard the jingle of keys.

He opened the door and, with a hard hand on her back, ushered her into her apartment, closed and locked the door behind them. Addison swiftly stepped back from him, away from his dominating presence. He followed her down the hall, dropping her purse carelessly on the floor.

Addison wondered how she ever felt empty space surrounding him. He was anything but 'empty' to her now. Physically he was large, looming, hard and unmoving. Inside though, he was a seething mass of scorching emotion she couldn't even begin to understand. He felt- hot, angry, restless, triumphant. Maybe it was the aftermath of the gunfight? She'd heard of people having feelings of unreleased aggression after extreme situations.

Addison licked her suddenly dry lips and she felt a jolt run through him, as though he was stopping himself from grabbing her. She stumbled back another step. "Can I- can I get something for you? A glass of water?"

He didn't say anything, completely ignoring her question.

Frustration welled up in her. Daniel Mercer definitely wasn't the type of man to care about the comfort of others, which most definitely included pretending to have basic social graces. He wouldn't be an easy man to be around. Lucky for her, she didn't have to spend time with him after today. In fact, she didn't have to spend time with him beyond showing him to the door.

"Okay, well thanks again for saving my life down there," she said, reaching out for the wall so she could walk past him without actually touching him when she passed him in the hall. "I'm sure you have a lot to do and I'd like to get some rest, so if you'll just-"

As Addison tried to glide past him toward the front door, he turned swiftly and took her by the shoulders. He shoved her lightly backwards, trapping her between the wall and his equally hard body. Her hands came up to push against him, but he was completely unmovable. She fisted her hands in his shirt. The fabric was a standard cotton T-shirt. Too light for the weather, she thought, but his skin was hot underneath. Maybe he didn't feel the coolness of the southern winter breeze.

Absurd, Addie! she thought to herself. The head of Tyson King's security has you pinned against a wall after you've both just survived a potential massacre and you're trying to decide if he might catch a cold if he doesn't put on a sweater.

"What are you doing?" she gasped.

He ignored her. Instead, he dropped his head until it was level with hers and boldly rubbed his chin against her cheek. Addison gasped again, strained back against the unyielding wall and tilted her head back as far as it would go. He followed her, tracing his nose along her jaw, under her ear and into her hairline. He seemed to be breathing her in, like a bloodhound memorizing her scent. His jaw was bearded. The trimmed hair rasped along her soft skin, marking her. Somehow his facial hair made the act feel even more- intimate.

Heart hammering, Addison took several panicked breaths that had the effect of drawing his scent in as well. It was extremely light, barely there, yet definitely masculine too. Perhaps a mixture of unscented soap and natural scent. She froze. Like the hint of something she had detected in the elevator.

He brought his hand up, startling Addison. She jerked back and hit her head against the wall. He made an annoyed sound and put his hand on her face, forcing it forward so she could no longer strain away from him. He used his thumb to trace her lips. Then her chin, cheekbones and finally trace lightly into the orbits around her eyes. Frightened, she didn't think to resist him or look away as she would usually have done.

It was an odd move. He touched her the way a blind person might touch another when attempting to visualize their face. Unnerved, she released her grip on his T-shirt and reached up to grab his hand so she could force it away from her face. He took her smaller hand in his, laced his fingers through hers and forced her hand over her head against the wall.

"What are you doing?" Addison cried out again, her voice higher than normal.

He responded by bringing his face so close to hers that his lips brushed against her cheek. She jumped and held herself tensely still as his mouth drifted toward hers. His lips hovered over hers, his even breaths mingled with her panicked gasps.

"I tried to stay away from you."

His deep voice was so low she wouldn't have heard it if he hadn't been standing so close to her. He shifted his body until it was flush against hers. She gasped and her head spun. He was so much harder than her, every muscle sculpted to lethal precision. There was no way she could get out of his hold until he was ready to release her. He could do whatever he wanted.

She whimpered.

"I wasn't going to touch you, Addison Sterling," he breathed against her, pressing his hips into hers, letting her know exactly how much he wanted to touch her.

"How- how did you know where I live?" she asked.

He ignored her. It was a stupid question anyway. He was Tyson King's head of security. He probably knew everything about everyone in the building. Risk assessment was his job. But she didn't pose a risk. What did he want with her? She didn't realize she asked the question out loud until he actually answered her, much to her horror.

"I want everything, Addison," he said, squeezing her against the wall so hard she was forced to relax her body under his or be crushed. "I want you every way I can have you. I want you underneath me, begging for mercy. I want to eat you, fuck you, make you scream and hurt you. I was going to leave you alone, but now its too late."

She cried out and would have begun struggling in earnest except his radio crackled and a voice demanded his immediate attention. He swiftly stepped away from her. Addison would have collapsed to the carpet if he hadn't retained his hold on her. She slumped between his hand and the wall, taking in deep lungfuls of air and wondering exactly how she was going to get herself out of this situation.

She wondered if Karma worked this quickly. Just that morning she'd been thinking about taking a lover. Nice one, Karma, not exactly what she'd had in mind. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she didn't pay attention to Daniel's radio conversation and leapt back against the wall when he turned back to her.

"I have to leave," he said gruffly. She felt him move and heard the sound of him running a hand through the smoothness of his hair. Indecision? He didn't want to leave.

Addison said the only thing she could think of. "Good."

He ignored her. "Don't leave, I'll be back as soon as I can get this wrapped up. We need to talk."

Like hell! She crossed her arms in front of her body protectively as he stepped away from her toward the door of her apartment. "I mean it Addison, be here when I get back. We need to talk about what happens next."

"Just go away," she mumbled.

He left without another word. She knew he would be back.