CHAPTER THREE

RHYS

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She made it.

I'm practically humming with excitement listening to the muffled patter of her feet moving through the house. She's hauling her things in from her car, a small mountain of luggage she piles in the foyer. The short plaits of her skirt swirls around her toned thighs with every motion of her perfect body.

She's naked underneath. I know because I spent most of her drive staring at the smooth folds of her lips. The angle wasn't great, but it was fine. It got me through.

Now, she's shuffling around in the next room, settling in with me just down the hall.

I already had the address before she sent it to me. I was going to show up regardless. This is now my game and she's my victim for a whole fucking week. But I do like that she willingly gave it. Willingly put herself at my mercy.

It took a lot of sweet talking, bribery and some mild blackmailing to get Giselle — the contest coordinator for Morning Glory — to sneak Addie's name into the raffle and make sure she won. It took every chip I had to play to convince her, plus a few I still owe her, but hearing Addie's soft humming as she unpacks her clothes makes it worth it.

I've been in the house since last night, organizing and setting everything up for the week I have planned for us. Wiring the house and grounds without damaging anything was the hardest part. I had to make sure she couldn't see the cameras without dismantling anything that would piss Giselle off. It worked out in the end. I had eyes and ears on Addie from the locked room at the back of the house labeled Closed. It took me ages to pick the lock and set up camp inside the spare bedroom, but at least Addie isn't going to find me until I'm ready.

She's flipping through the binder listing all the provided meals for the week. The ingredients are supplied. She just has to cook it. From my vantage point, she selects a pasta dish, but rather than grab the ingredients, she picks up her phone and stares at the screen.

She has no signal; the heavy-duty jammer I paid a small fortune for is seeing to that. But I wonder if she's hoping to finish what we started earlier. We'd been cut off when she hit the perimeter. That was my cue to double check everything was ready for her arrival.

With a sigh, she drops the phone down and peers around at her surroundings with the look of someone not sure what they'd gotten themselves into.

Don't worry, baby. I'll keep you amused, I promise as I study the gnawing of her teeth on her bottom lip. Her weight shifts with the squeezing of her thighs together. The familiar little dance has my eyebrow lifting.

Don't do it, I warn when she licks her lips and glances at the phone again.

Part of me hopes she'll disobey, and I'll get to punish her, but she blows out an exasperated breath and stomps out of the kitchen.

I smirk to myself as she paces to the front door and out into the late afternoon sun.

It's amusing watching Addie try to figure out what to do in a place designed to disconnect from life and reconnect with your inner self. She seems almost confused by the offered books, the meditation cards and even toppled backwards off the exercise ball, which added to her frustration when she found no alcohol and nothing with sugar, salt or caffeine.

I'm pretty sure if it was still light enough, she would have gotten back into her car and gone home. Part of me takes some of the responsibility for her boredom cutting her off from her phone and laptop, but I don't want to ignore her if she tries to finish our earlier game; the house is small and not soundproof. She would definitely hear me.

All I can do is wait for her to get into the shower before making my move.

I pack all her clothes and hide them in the backroom, except a single pair of white bikini bottoms that I drape neatly on the mattress. I hurry downstairs, unlatch and open the front door before going back and sliding under the bed to wait.

Wait and watch as Addie finishes running soapy hands up and over her damp body and rinses off. She steps out and runs a thick, plush towel across her wet skin. I'm practically salivating as she leaves the bathroom and stops at the edge of the bed where she'd left her things.

Her head cocks. She swings her gaze over the rest of the bed, lingers on the bikini before moving to the dresser.

"What the fuck?" she mumbles when she finds the drawers empty.

She rips open each one just to be sure before straightening with one hand on her hip. Her head turns to the bed and the only covering I've left her. But she storms to the closet and tears open the sliding door to find only empty hangers.

I can only watch her feet at this angle, but I don't miss them stalking to the bed and snatching up the panties I left her.

She pulls them on but keeps the towel securely in place across her chest as she hurries down the loft stairs.

I crawl out of my hiding place and wait for her to see the open door framing a dark outline of the woods.

From the top, I watch her run forward, maybe to close the door but I need her outside.

I descend the steps. Putting all my weight into creating a heavy thump that echoes through the cabin.

Addie spins and sees me. Surprise melts into confusion. Then ... then realization.

Little brat doesn't even try to hide her excitement when she spins on her heels and bolts out into the night.