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  His mouth tensed into a line and for some reason he didn’t look happy about that as he took a deep breath. “No. You’re marked by me, that scent is strong, but your scent is still there under it. If the mating took, it would be totally replaced by mine.”

  Mika didn’t know how to feel. Part of her was relieved. It meant that she could go home after Grady was out of heat so he wouldn’t resent and hate her, but another part of her grieved. She was going to lose him for sure. She carefully sat down on the bed, refusing to look at his face, as she reached for the firm, hard flesh pointing straight up his abdomen.

  “I guess we don’t have to worry about deals anymore,” she said softly. “Now I know you’ll let me go when this is over.”

  “Mika—”

  “Don’t talk to me, Grady. I’m going to take care of you and you’re going to be silent until we’re released from this damn cage.”

  “Mika, we need to—”

  She licked her lips, bent and took Grady’s cock into her mouth. He groaned, whatever he was about to say lost as she worked him, sucking on him. She moved fast, nearly removing him totally from between her lips and then taking him as deep as she dared, lifted as she sucked hard, then pushed down again. The sounds Grady made were loud as he panted and groaned. She cupped his balls with her hand, feeling how hard and taut they were, drawn close to his body, and she knew he was going to come fast. The second she realized he was going to, she released him completely, straightening up, and wrapped her hand around his thick shaft to finish getting him off.

  She watched Grady throw his head back, his body arching, and he snarled as he came. Her gaze lowered and she watched him shoot out his release with each hand motion she made, drawing it out until his body relaxed and he stopped spilling his semen. She released him and bent, grabbed the sheet off the floor, and dropped it over his lap as she stood, moving away.

  “Now you don’t need me for a few hours.” She walked to the bars, gripped them, and stared out.

  His breathing slowed within minutes. “Mika, we need to talk. We need to—”

  “You need to shut up if you want me to touch you in two hours.” She lifted her wrist, twisting it to show off her watch. “That’s the deal, Grady. You keep silent and I’ll attend to you when you need me to.”

  He sniffed and softly growled. She closed her eyes, pressing her forehead to the bars. She knew what he smelled and she recognized that damn growl. She was turned on, was always affected by the sight of his naked body and touching him, and he usually fucked her when he uttered that type of growl he’d just made.

  “Come here, Mika. I can take care of you.”

  She took a deep breath. “No thanks. I’m not in heat. I’m just fine, and again, shut up.”

  “You can put your knees beside my shoulders and grip the wall and fit over my face,” he said softly. “I want to taste you, babe.”

  Her eyes snapped open. “Damn you,” she spun, glaring at him. “You think I’m going to let any part of my body near your damn mouth again? You bit me and you left me bleeding, huddled in a room, terrified that you were going to come after me and kill me. You didn’t even give a shit enough to make sure I was alive.”

  Something flashed in his eyes. “I knew you were fine and I smelled your terror so I left to give us both a chance to calm.”

  “Fine. You stick with that bullshit excuse of why you abandoned me. Shut up, Grady. I really don’t want to talk to you.”

  He watched her but he didn’t speak. She was stuck with Grady until his damn family released them.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Elroy was grim as he unlocked the cage door. Mika was in the far corner, definitely not going near the angry man. She thought about trying to run past him but knew, after three days of being locked up, that it wouldn’t work. She’d tried twice but one of Grady’s brothers always caught her before she made it to the stairs.

  She had been fed four times a day but she also had to feed Grady. The stack of towels and hand towels they were given daily had been used to give her and Grady sponge baths from the sink. She’d bathed him, cared for him, and taken care of all of his needs. Every time he’d tried to talk to her, she’d threatened to stop. He’d watched her though, silently, hour after hour. She just wanted a real shower, fresh air, and to get the hell out of the cage.

  The pack leader ignored Mika as he stepped into the cell, his full attention on his son. “How are you feeling?”

  Grady was frowning at his father. “Fine.”

  Elroy paused. “How are you feeling now that you’re out of heat?”

  Surprise flashed through Mika as her gaze darted to Grady.

  He shook his head. “I’m still in heat.”

  Elroy’s eyes narrowed and then he looked at Mika. He returned his attention to his son. “I see.”

  Grady stared at his father. “I want my chains removed.”

  “No,” Mika instantly said. “If we stay locked up, he stays locked down.”

  “You don’t give me orders,” Elroy told her. He reached in his pocket and withdrew a key. He stared into Grady’s eyes. “How much longer do you think you’ll need to be here so she can’t take off on you?”

  “I’m not sure. I’ll let you know when I have this heat thing under control.”

  Elroy bent, unlocking Grady’s wrists, staring at his son the entire time. “I’m going to leave the cage open and instead just lock the door to the basement so you can be more comfortable in the apartment down here.” He made a face. “You both need showers.”

  Grady’s wrists were free. He moved his arms, wincing a little and sat up. “Thanks, Dad.”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing,” Elroy said softly. “I’m taking heavy shit upstairs so I hope you go out of heat soon.” He paused. “Am I clear?”

  “Yes.” Grady’s legs were released and he sat up as Elroy straightened, moving away.

  Elroy shot a glance at Mika. “Don’t try to escape. I have four guards set up around the house outside. You wouldn’t make it to the gate that separates the property from the street. Am I clear?”

  “Don’t threaten her.” Grady stood up.

  “Then make sure she stays where she’s needed and I won’t have to.” He softly growled at his son. “If you hadn’t totally made a mess of this, I wouldn’t have been involved at all.”

  Grady sighed. “I know. I’m sorry.”

  Elroy nodded and walked out of the cage. “Two days, Grady. That’s all you’ve got.”

  Mika stared at Grady as he stretched his big, naked body. The sheet was on the floor where it had dropped the second he’d stood. He watched his father go and then slowly turned to face her. The look in his eyes scared her a little.

  “Things have changed now, haven’t they, babe?” He moved, slowly inching closer.

  “Yeah. You can wash your own ass now.”

  His hands gripped the bars on either side of her, trapping her between them and his body, but he didn’t touch her. She looked up at his face since, if she looked down, she’d see more of him than she wanted to without that sheet.

  “You can’t keep me quiet anymore with your threats to not touch me.” He inhaled slowly, lowering his head, turning it, and breathed in close to her neck. “We’re going to shower and then we’re going to talk.”

  Mika swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. “We don’t have much to talk about. As soon as you don’t need me anymore you can get on with your life and I can get on with mine.”

  His nose brushed her throat and she jumped, trying to move away from him but she had nowhere to go as her arm pressed against his where he gripped the bar, trapping her there.

  “Let’s go shower.”

  “You go right ahead. I’ll take one after you.”

  Grady backed up a step, released the bars, and grabbed her forearm. “You don’t leave my sight. You could try to run from me again.”

  She bit back a curse as he turned, tugging on her, and she was left with no choice but