by Celia Aaron
The spell broke, and I stepped away from Sebastian.
“It was a pleasure, as always.” He gave me a small nod before turning to follow Gregory, who gave me a wide-eyed look before disappearing down the hall.
I sank into the chair at my desk as my door clicked closed. My heart still thundered, beating to a frenetic rhythm. How did he do that to me with nothing more than a simple touch?
Veronica’s warning whispered through my mind. “Stay away from him.”
Maybe she was right.
10
Sebastian
My hands balled into fists as I watched Link kiss her goodbye on her front stoop. Him and his fucking pink Polo shirt and khaki pants with the pleats, daring to touch my property as if it were his. My need to annihilate him rose up and crashed down like a heavy ocean wave. I was still toying with the idea of killing him, though I’d decided against it…mostly. The enjoyment I’d get from watching him squirm would be worth it. What little joy I’d found in my life usually came at the suffering of someone else.
Anton loaded Camille’s bags into the back of the limo as I waited impatiently for my new toy to arrive. Link finally released her, and she strode down the sidewalk of the small cottage only a few hundred yards from the entrance to Trenton. Her hips swayed in her simple jeans, and her jacket hid most of her curves. I almost salivated at the thought of having her naked and under my control.
She was so close, but then he called something to her that made her step falter, and she stopped. Impatience swelled in me, right along with curiosity. What had he said?
She winced, then turned and waved. Her response must not have been what he expected, because he crumpled a bit as she reached the car. I grinned and imagined how heartbroken he’d be in a few weeks when he received the report of her fatal accident in the Amazon.
I turned my head to look out the opposite window lest Link get a view of me as Anton opened the door. The car shifted, and a cold draft of air brought her sweet scent to me. Once Anton closed her door, I turned to her.
“Sebastian?” Her eyebrows shot up high on her forehead. “What are you doing here?”
Anton got into the driver’s seat and pulled away from the curb. The trap was closing around my Camille, but she didn’t sense the danger. Fear didn’t pass across her eyes, only confusion.
“I’m close friends with Dr. Williams.” Only half a lie. I was well acquainted with Timothy, my servant who played Dr. Williams on the phone a few times. “So I figured I’d see you off.”
“Oh.” Her fingers tangled together in her lap and she fell silent for a moment. Then she pinned me with a sharp look. “Are you the reason I got invited to this expedition?”
I smiled. “You could say that.”
Her eyes brightened, her whole demeanor opening up to me. “That is so…oh my god…so generous of you!” She took my hand, her warmth flowing into me. I greedily accepted it, as if I were a vampire leeching away her life.
“Think nothing of it. I was impressed with your dedication and knowledge. It seemed only natural that I pull what strings I had to get you on the right path.” The one leading to me.
“This is too much, really.” She pulled her hand from mine. “Sorry about that.”
“You can touch me.”
Pink flared in her cheeks and she inspected the floor of the limo. “I just had no idea.” Her forehead wrinkled. “And I thought I got the spot on my own merit.”
“You did.” Pride was an emotion I actually understood. It was part of self-preservation, a series of protocols at the monstrous core of every human. “You are uniquely suited to this expedition. In fact, no one else will do.”
She pressed her palms to her cheeks. “I’m just blown away right now.”
“Because your dream is coming true?” I had no shame. Playing with my food and watching it bleed before I devoured it was nothing new.
“Yes. And you helped.” She turned her wide eyes back to me. “Why?”
“Like I said, I took a particular interest in you.”
“Does Link know?”
I gritted my teeth. His fucking name shouldn’t be on her lips. Only mine.
“No. I’m afraid he doesn’t know much of anything. Wouldn’t you agree?” He was a fool to ever let her out of his sight.
She cocked her head to the side, as if she hadn’t heard me correctly. “I, um…”
Anton hit the freeway, heading away from the city and toward my estate on the southern edge of the Catskills.
She peered out the window and shook her head. “This isn’t the way to the airport.”
“No.” I loved this part. She could finally feel the web around her. Granted, I’d never kidnapped a woman before, but I’d sprung plenty of traps in my thirty-two years. None of them had been this high-stakes, and the thrill of it started a buzz in my veins.
“Where are we going?” She ran her fingertips down the glass and turned to me. “A different airport?”
“No.”
“Do we need to pick someone else up?” Her hopeful tone was still in place.
“No.”
She stared into my eyes, but she wouldn’t find any comfort there. Just me, a man dead set on possessing her.
“What’s going on?” She swallowed hard and glanced around. The fear that welled in her was sweeter than anything I’d ever tasted. It filled me, reminded me why I needed her. She made me feel, gave me life. I wanted to take every sensation from her, sample each one until I’d gorged myself on emotion.
Something she saw in my eyes had her shrinking back against the door. “Where are we going?”
“Does it matter?”
She winced, as if my voice cut her. “Yes. Please, what’s going on? Sebastian?” Her hand eased to her jacket pocket—the one where she kept her cell phone.
I grabbed her wrist and pinned it to the seat by her head. She gasped as I pulled her phone from her pocket and tucked it into mine.
She opened her mouth to scream.
“Shhh.” I wrapped my palm around her throat, giving just enough pressure so she knew I was serious. She dug her nails into the back of my hand, so I squeezed harder until she stopped. “All you need to know is that you belong to me.”
“What?” She tried to shake her head. “No.”
“You were always meant to be mine.”
“Please, let me go.” Her blue eyes watered.
“Never.” I loosened my grip just enough for her to breathe.
“You can’t do this.”
“It’s already done. You’re on a month-long trip to the Amazon. Very little cell service, if any. No one will know you’re missing until you fail to show back up in January.”
“What are you saying?” She fought the truth, but realization slowly dawned on her perfect face. A tear rolled down her right cheek. “Oh my god. You, you set this whole thing up.”
“Guilty.” I leaned forward and licked the sadness from her, the salty taste a tease on my tongue. “You’re even beautiful when you cry.”
A switch flipped inside her, disbelief turning into resistance. She tensed and launched against me. Her free hand struck harmlessly against my arm as she kicked and squirmed. A choked roar escaped her throat as she hit me with everything she had. The car rocked, but Anton kept on driving as instructed.
I held her in place, keeping steady pressure on her throat. I didn’t want to strangle her, not really, and I rather enjoyed the fight she put up. When she raked her nails across my cheek, I grinned and pressed my chest to her, pinning her as she struggled.
“Keep going.” I whispered in her ear.
Another roar and she arched her back, going wild to try and escape. She twisted and slammed her knee into mine. The pain rocketed along my leg as she kicked my shin, her ineffective tennis shoes failing to do any damage. Her nails raked across my scalp, and she seized my hair in her hand. Yanking with all her might, she pulled my mouth away from her ear and head-butted my nose.
“Fuck, this is fun.�
� I tasted blood, the warm rush spilling over my lips and dripping onto her white coat.
“Stop!” She shoved me, but I was unmoving.
“You’re mine. Your violence, your anger—all mine.”
A knot began to form on her forehead where she’d hit me. Shit. I didn’t want to hurt her. Not yet, anyway.
“Calm down.” I stared into her panicked eyes.
She struggled, still trying to escape my grasp. Soon enough, she’d understand that she couldn’t. But I could see that getting to that conclusion would take a lot of work, and I was more than ready for it. My cock had been hard from the moment fear coiled around her heart. Because I was a monster.
Her knee connected with mine again.
“You’re hurting yourself.” I tsked.
“Get off me!” she screamed in my face.
“I thought it might come to this.” I reached into my suit pocket and pulled an embroidered handkerchief from it.
A cloying smell swirled in the air, and she stopped struggling, her eyes searching for the source of the scent. “Don’t.”
“I fear I have to.” I pressed the cloth to her face. “But don’t worry. You’ll see me again soon.” She tried to turn her head away and managed to hold her breath for a few seconds. But her exertions had her breathing too hard to stop. She inhaled, and her eyelids fluttered.
“Let me go.” Her words slurred on their way to me.
“I told you.” Her eyes closed, her breathing slowing as I stroked her hair. “Never.”
When she was out, I wiped the blood from my nose, then pulled Camille into my lap. She was limp, like a perfect doll. I tucked her head under my chin and wrapped my arms around her.
She slumbered peacefully as the monster in my chest hummed in anticipation of its next meal.
11
Camille
Soft sheets. I rolled over and buried my face in my pillow. But something was off. The pillow smelled different than usual. Instead of my shampoo, it had the scent of woods and leather and something sophisticated.
I opened my eyes and sat up. Him. The pillow smelled like him. The sheet fell off me, and I realized my skin was bare. Panic hit me like a blow to the chest. I yanked the sheet back into place and peered around into the gloom.
“You’re awake.” His deep voice slithered around me, but I couldn’t see him.
“Where am I?”
“Our room.” He was sitting somewhere off to my right.
“Did you take my clothes off?”
“Yes.”
I cringed and eased toward the edge of the bed opposite him. Panic blared in my ears, and everything seemed to go cold. I’d awoken naked in his bed. What had he done to me while I was out? I did a mental check, and my body didn’t feel any different.
“Did you—” I choked on my own question.
“What?” Had his voice moved closer?
I squeezed my thighs together, searching for any pang of pain. There was none.
I caught movement in the darkness. He was walking around the bed toward me.
Scurrying back, I hit the headboard and clutched the sheet to me. “What did you do to me?” I tried to inject hatred into my voice, but it still shook.
“You mean, did I rape you?” He came into view, his bare body illuminated by a faint light through a door at his back.
He was strong, well-muscled and loomed huge like a recurring nightmare. His eyes pierced through the shadows, a slight glint telling me that he was enjoying this too much.
“Did you?”
He put a knee on the bed. “No.”
“Let me go.” I wanted to look away from his nudity but was too afraid to let him out of my sight.
“No.” He moved closer, the wide bed shifting under his weight.
I bolted away from him, but I didn’t even set foot on the floor before he grabbed my ankle and yanked me back. A scream ripped from my lungs as he covered me with his body.
“Shh.” He clapped a hand over my mouth. “No one can hear you anyway.” His thick cock pressed into my thigh, but he made no other move, just restrained me as fear thundered through my being. He pulled his palm away and stared down at me. “That’s better.”
My eyes burned as tears welled. “Why are you doing this?”
“I told you.” He cocked his head, as if surprised he had to explain. “Because you’re mine.”
“I’m not yours.” My voice cracked.
“You’ll see.” The certainty in his words chilled me. “We’re bound, you and me. You’ve felt it. I could see it in your eyes when we danced, when I visited your classroom. Every time you’re near me, you give yourself away.”
“No.” I burned with shame that some part of his words rang true. But that was before he’d drugged and kidnapped me. Those embers were now dark and cold. “You can’t keep me here.”
“I can. You haven’t noticed yet, but you’re wearing a stunning accessory. An anklet with a tracker. If you take it off, I’ll know. If you try to leave the house, I’ll know. This estate has been in my family for a hundred years. There are over five-hundred acres around the house. You won’t get far before I catch you and bring you back here, where you belong. You can’t escape. There are no phones, no internet, no one who will help you.”
Every word that left his lips sent a shard of ice tearing through my heart. “You’re a monster.”
“I know.”
“Someone will find me.”
He leaned closer, the tip of his nose brushing mine. “Someone already has.”
“What are you going to do to me?” I swallowed hard, my mouth dry.
“Keep you safe. Keep you close.”
My chin trembled. “Kill me?”
“What?” He seemed genuinely surprised by the thought. “You think I’d kill you?”
“How could I not?” I bit the inside of my cheek. Was he just toying with me again?
“I never want to hurt you.” He shook his head. “I’ll kill anyone who does.”
“You’re deranged.”
He smirked, the quirk of his lips cruel. “You aren’t the first to call me that, though I prefer high-functioning psychopath.”
I struggled, trying to buck him off. He was immoveable, a mountain of intent crushing me with each passing second. “You can’t just keep me here! I’m not a pet.”
“No.” He paused, his eyes searching my face. “Not a pet. But you’re mine. I can feel it.” He sat back and took my hand in his, pressing it over his heart. “In here. Where there’s nothing. When I saw you, something happened. And now I can feel, but only for you.”
Tears slid down my temples and pooled in my ears. “But don’t you feel how wrong this is?”
“No.” He squeezed my hand. “This is the only thing I’ve ever done that feels right.”
The conviction in his words slowed my racing mind. “How long do you intend to keep me here?”
“Forever.”
“What?” Horror ripped through me, tearing up my thoughts and skirting along my dreams like a rusty razor blade.
“You were meant for me. Don’t you understand?”
“Get off me.” Acid churned in my stomach, and I yanked my hand away from him.
He stared down at me, as if trying to read my thoughts. “I will, but if you try to run, I’ll capture you. There is no way out of this room except my way.” He moved off me and lay down on the bed, his body languid, like a predator at rest. “The sooner you accept that, the better off you’ll be.”
I sat up and turned away from him. Though tears blurred my vision, my eyes had become accustomed to the gloom. Several wide windows lined one side of the room. We were on what looked like the second floor of a grand home. The moonless night beyond was dark, and I couldn’t see anything except dense forest in the distance. The bed was large, each corner topped with a carved wooden poster. A faint light filtered into the room from an adjacent bathroom. Two other doors in the room were closed, and undoubtedly locked.
The sleek
décor had a masculine edge to it that mixed with the antique furniture to give an opulent air. I didn’t care about his sense of style. What can I use as a weapon?
“Get back under the covers. The nights get cold out here in the foothills.” I could feel his eyes on me. “Though I’m quite enjoying the view.”
“Where are my clothes?”
“Gone.”
I stared at the closed doors, my thoughts still fighting with the reality of my situation. “I have to go.”
“You aren’t going anywhere. Every night we’re together, you will sleep with me. And you’ll be naked. If I, for some unfortunate reason, have to leave on business, you will sleep in our bed alone until I return.” He patted the mattress.
Everything in me told me to run, but there was nowhere to go.
“I can make you comply, if that’s what you want.” His dark chuckle pelted me like sleet. “I’d rather enjoy that, actually.”
“No.” Goose bumps raced along my skin as I crawled under the blankets and scooted to the far edge of the bed. None of it seemed real. My mind tried to make sense of it, but it was as if I were trying to complete a puzzle while the pieces kept disintegrating in my fingers. I shook, my body revolting against its sudden captivity.
“You can come closer.” His low voice rumbled over me.
“No.” Not a chance.
He sighed. “This doesn’t have to be unpleasant for you.”
I glanced at him over my shoulder. “Are you kidding?”
“No.” He rose on an elbow, the edge of the sheet hovering along his abs. “I know you find me attractive.”
I turned away and rested my head on my folded hands. “I did. Now? Not so much.”
“That’s not something that just disappears.”
“It does when you kidnap someone.” My eyes still searched in vain for some sort of weapon.
“Think of it as more of an elopement.”
“Marriage?” I clenched my eyes shut, trying to clear them of useless tears.
“No.” He shifted toward me, his body heat buffeting my back. “Not yet, anyway.” He rested his hand on my shoulder, but I rolled away from him, perilously close to falling to the floor.