Bound and Determined by Anara Bella Read Free Book Online

her away from here.
    Before she could put thought to action, strong arms swooped out of nowhere, picked her up and carried her back to the house.
    The heat from Marcus’s body was unbelievably welcome but he was taking her the wrong way. “P-put me down.”
    He scowled at her, water dripping off his nose. “Don’t be foolish, I have to get you inside.”
    “Just t-take me to my c-car, I can get home f-from there.”
    Ignoring her, he kept striding toward the house, not slowing until he’d gotten them both back inside and slammed the door with his foot. Without hesitation, he headed up the stairs.
    “Where are you t-taking me?”
    “You’re shivering so hard your teeth are rattling and your lips are blue. I have to get you warmed up.”
    “If you’d just t-taken me to my c-car I’d have been f-fine.” She couldn’t stop stuttering to her utter annoyance.
    “I’ve never met a more stubborn woman in my life. I should have left you out there.”
    “Why d-didn’t you?”
    He didn’t even bother to answer. Heading straight into the bathroom at the top of the stairs, he unceremoniously dumped her on the edge of the tub and turned on the water in the shower stall.
    Turning back to her, he whipped off the purse still miraculously draped around her neck and threw it on the floor. When he grabbed her foot to remove a sandal, she gasped, more from surprise than pain.
    “What is it?”
    “M-my ankle’s a little sore.”
    He gently removed the sandal and felt around her ankle, but the pain was now minimal. “It doesn’t look bad, probably only bruised. We should put some ice on it once we have you warmed up and dried off.”
    Asia nodded, not really listening, instead mesmerized by his strong hands as he removed the other sandal.
    He moved to unbutton her top and she jerked back, trying to push his hands away. “What do you think you’re d-doing?”
    His face was as black and stormy as the clouds outside. “I’m trying to keep you from catching your death of a cold. We have to get your clothes off and get you under the flow of hot water to warm you up. Besides, you’re covered in mud. We both are.”
    She looked down and realized he was right. Her hands and legs, as well as her clothes, were covered in splotches of mud that even the torrential rain hadn’t been able to wash off. Leave it to her to get covered in mud and get it all over him too. She acquiesced and let him continue.
    He had finally managed to unbutton her top and was pulling it past her shoulders when she realized with horror that he could see her nipples through the now see-through wet fabric of her bra. With great difficulty, fighting with the resistant wet fabric and her incessant shivering, she pulled her arms free of the sleeves.
    And shoved his hands away again. “I c-can do the rest m-myself.”
    He leaned back and held up his hands. “Prove it. If you can, I’ll leave the rest up to you.”
    She threw him a dirty look and reached for the zipper on her skirt. It took a great deal of effort but she managed to capture the zipper’s tab and tug, but the damn thing wouldn’t budge.
    After watching her struggle with it for a bit, he made an impatient sound and pushed her hands out of the way. “I’ll do it.”
    In no time he had the zipper down, put his arm around her and lifted her enough to slip her skirt off. And, oh God, now she was standing there, holding onto the towel bar with one hand for support, wearing nothing but see-through underwear that showed everything she owned.
    And Marcus had noticed.
    Boy , had he noticed.
    His heated gaze rested on her nipples, making them swell even more than they already had been from the cold, then it flicked down to the apex of her thighs. She no longer had any secrets from Marcus Thorne, that was for sure.
    He swallowed. His fingers twitched as if wanting to reach out and touch her. Instead, he swiped his hands over his face to get rid of the water still dripping down. When his gaze met hers,