Chapter 359

I escaped the man’s grasp and tried to turn to face him, but his arm came around my neck, and he pressed a knife against my throat.

“You’re coming with us,” his voice growled into my ear. “Don’t try anything, or I’ll kill you right here.”

As he pressed the sharp edge of the blade hard against my skin, fear made my heart pound.

Amy was right. It wasn’t safe to be near me, and my wedding to Victor would have been a target for these thugs.

Now, because my feelings had been hurt and I felt sorry for myself, I may never see Victor again.

I could have let the baker make the cake and donated it to Amy’s shelter. But my drama-queen fit of self-pity put my life in danger.

Anna! Did they hurt her because she was with me? I hoped not. She’s a wonderful and caring person, and her parents need her.

“Where’s my maid?” I asked, refusing to move until they answered my question.

“We don’t know anything about your maid,” my captor growled. “Now, walk, or you’re dead.”

I stubbornly held my ground and tried to look toward my truck. I had to know if Anna was okay.

Sharp pain telegraphed from under my chin to my brain. The thug holding the knife to my throat had stuck the tip through my skin.

A trickle of warm blood ran down my throat, and I began to shake with fear and rage.

These Alphas were the reason I couldn’t marry Victor, and now they were threatening to kill me.

Well, I refuse to make it easy for them. If they wanted to kill me, they could do it here in front of everyone on the street.

“I said walk,” the man with the knife demanded.

I lifted my right foot as if I was going to take a step. Instead, I brought my heel down on his foot as hard as possible.

He gasped from the pain and momentarily loosened his grip on me. It was all I needed.

Bringing my arms up, I spun away from him and kicked him in the chest. He flew several feet and landed on his back.

The other man was behind me. Did he have a knife, too?

I spun around, ready to kick him. Instead, I dove out of the way when Anna gave him a flying side kick that knocked him to the ground.

She grabbed my hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

We ran to my truck and jumped inside. I started the engine, stomped on the gas, and rocketed down the road.

I didn’t slow down until I came to the mansion. After racing down the driveway, I stopped at the front entrance, and we ran inside.

Anna yelled for help, and Benson and Victor ran through the foyer.

“Daisy, you’re bleeding!” Victor cried.

I had forgotten about the knife prick under my chin. It had stopped bleeding, but my blood was drying on my neck and shirt.

“I’m okay,” I assured him. “But I almost wasn’t.” I turned to Anna. “Thanks for your help back there. I was in trouble.”

“I’m sorry I didn’t notice those men sooner,” Anna said. “I should have stayed with you instead of going into that coffee shop.”

Victor held me close and then demanded details of the attack while he cleaned my tiny wound.

“We need to get away for a while,” he decided. “Let’s go pack. Benson, will you have a rental car delivered? I want our departure and destination to be kept secret.”

“Anna, stay here at the mansion and pretend we are here too,” I said. “Maybe Findlay and Benson should tell anyone who asks that we have the flu.”

“That’s a great idea,” Victor agreed.

After packing enough clothes for a week, we put our suitcases into a rented blue SUV and put on hats and sunglasses before driving away from the mansion.

“Where are we going?” I asked. We hadn’t discussed our destination while we were preparing to leave.

“I feel like lying on the beach,” Victor replied. “How about you?”

“That sounds fantastic,” I said.

My spirits soared the further we got from Denhurst. But as I relaxed in the passenger seat, my eyes grew heavy, and I fell asleep.

I woke up in Victor’s arms while he was carrying me inside the beach house. He took me upstairs and placed me on the bed.

“Go back to sleep, sweetheart,” he said. “I’ll join you in a few minutes. We’re going to have a fun day together tomorrow.”

“Okay,” I murmured sleepily. “Hurry back to me, my love.”

A few minutes later, I felt him climb into bed beside me, and I let myself fall into a deep sleep as soon as his arms were around me.

I woke the following day to the sound of waves outside the open patio doors and the scent of coffee in my nostrils.

“What time is it?” I asked Victor as he handed me a take-out breakfast sandwich and freshly brewed coffee.

“Ten thirty,” he replied.

“After we eat, let’s walk on the beach,” I said. “I want to play in the water and walk the jetty.”

I already felt relaxed and happy. The rest of the day only got better.

The sky was a brilliant blue with streaks of thin clouds on the western horizon. The salt air was warm and sultry. It felt marvelous on my skin as we walked down the beach in our swimsuits.

Walking on the jetty brought back pleasant memories of our first days of sharing physical intimacy.

Those passionate memories made me look forward to the evening when we would return to our bedroom overlooking the beach.

We returned to the beach house in the late afternoon, sandy, laughing, and hungry.

“I’ll call Hall’s restaurant and have them deliver something special,” Victor said.

“That sounds great,” I agreed. “I’m going upstairs to shower.”

The warm water felt fantastic as it sluiced sand and salt from my body. I washed my hair and rinsed myself thoroughly before climbing out of the marble shower.

I carefully dried my hair to keep it from frizzing, applied a light perfume to my pulse points, and pulled a white flowered sundress over my head.

Forgoing shoes and underwear, I went in search of Victor.

He was at the front door, accepting our dinner from the restaurant’s driver. After generously tipping the man, he brought our food inside and placed it on the dining room table.

I picked up the bottle of wine and glasses Victor had left on the table. “Let’s eat on the upstairs deck.”

“Whatever you want, my love,” he answered.

I led the way, and soon, we were seated on deck chairs with our feast in front of us on small tables.

“This is perfect,” I said after sealing a mouthful of roasted pork. “I’m glad you thought of coming here.”

“So am I, sweetheart.” Victor took my hand and kissed it.

When we were finished eating, Victor moved the tables and pulled me to my feet.

We kissed under the rising moon, the stars and the ocean waves, witnessing our rising passion.

“I love you, Daisy,” Victor murmured against my lips.

I stepped back and pulled the sundress over my head. His hiss of indrawn breath reached my ears at the exact moment I felt his jolt of lust for me.

“Then make love to me, Victor,” I purred and backed into the bedroom. “I want you now.”

I pulled his shirt off and flung it across the room before lying across the bed.

“My body craves your touch, my exquisite Alpha male,” I said, watching him remove his pants. “How I adore your hard body.”

Victor lay beside me and began running his hands over my breasts and belly. “How I adore your soft skin and scorching hot body.”

His head dipped to my breasts. His mouth teased and suckled them until I was going mad with need.

“Oh, yes,” I moaned when his mouth made a path to my womanhood.

As his thumbs spread my nether lips, he looked into my eyes and let his tongue touch my tiny pleasure jewel.

Waves of pleasure washed over me while his talented mouth worked its magic.

Just before my fulfillment, he moved upward and slid his manhood into my wet and eager love channel.

I threw my head back and moaned from the pure pleasure of our bodies joining as one. Victor felt it too, and moved faster and harder.

He looked deep into my eyes again, and our souls intertwined as we reached our climax together.

Victor stayed on top of me while our passion cooled. I held him close, caressing his back.

Suddenly, he kissed me again and asked, “Will you elope with me, my love? We will find a local priestess and have her marry us on the beach.”