“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said through gritted teeth. My mind raced in trying to decipher what Rafe and I could have done to earn his thirst for vengeance, but none of this made any sense. Unless my dad was involved somehow…that’s the only thing that clicked.

“What would you be willing to do to save Mason’s life?”

“What?” I jerked back, fighting against his hold.

“You heard me. What would you”—he let my hair slide through his fingers, and his hand descended to my lap—“be willing to do to save the man you love?” There was nothing to bar his access—just a flimsy scrap of underwear I’d worn to bed, thinking I was safe in Rafe’s room. Lucas parted my thighs and swiped my panties to the side, then he plunged a finger between my folds. I bit my lip hard.

“You never let me touch you like this when we were dating.” He bent and pressed his face to my temple, inhaling sharply. “I’ll spare his life if you let me fuck you.”

“Let him go.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“I’ll do anything…” My gaze strayed to the photos of the woman, and I wondered who she was. How could I have spent so much time with him and never sense the darkness beneath the expensive suits and charming demeanor? When it came to noticing the depraved fibers in people, I was broken, my evil detector in pieces, probably rotting in the same place as my innocence.

“I’ll be your…your…slave. Let him go and keep me.”

His mouth lowered to my ear. “You’re perfect, Alex. Young, pliable, and best of all, trained to take a man’s cock like a pro.” He added more fingers and jammed them deep inside, stretching my opening with an uncomfortable burn. It was all I could do not to tense upon the crude intrusion. “But you’re under the misguided impression that you have a choice in the matter, that you have the ability to negotiate with me. You,” he said, his breath blasting my ear with moist heat, “are powerless here.”

He unbuttoned his slacks and lowered the zipper. “We’ll start slow, but I need a token of your respect. Show me why I should consider your wants in this situation. Show me why I shouldn’t kill Mason.”

I leaned toward him, each second bringing my mouth closer to the hard-on straining behind his boxer briefs, and reached for the band of cotton, pulling it down…down a little more. I glanced up and wished I could smack the gleam of triumph from his expression. He was toying with me, thinking he’d already won.

And he had. I’d do anything for Rafe.

“If I give you a blowjob, you’ll let him go?”

“Wrap that slutty mouth around my cock, and I might let him live.”