Chapter 14

Kayla

Ididn’t know why I wasn’t looking for an escape route, why I cleaned up, dressed, and did exactly what Adryan wanted me to do, like the obedient little servant he was probably used to.

But I did want answers. I was so confused about… everything.

How I felt, about everything that had happened, and who those men were who broke into my house. But most of all, why I felt this strange, irrevocable pull toward him. Not to mention there was something definitely not human about him. His glowing red eyes, the sharp teeth; hell, just his very presence was unsettling and unnatural.

I hated the outfits he’d picked for me. Because they were exactly what I would’ve chosen for myself. Perfect sizes, styles I loved. Casual but sophisticated. It was like he knew me… just like he’d implied.

The underwear had been far too intimate for my liking, especially when they were nothing but scraps of lace. Why couldn”t he have gotten me granny panties, big stretches of cotton that covered me from navel to thigh? I snorted at my thoughts and the image that conjured in my mind.

What was suspiciously absent in all the items were bras.

I gritted my teeth. That asshole. I may not want to wear the scraps of lace, but I also wasn’t about to go around panty-less, not with how heated I was around him, as if I had zero control over my arousal.

My fear and arousal were constant, my need to have him close and feel him touch me throwing punches with the commonsense, self-respecting part of me that said I had to fight, I had to keep my wits if I wanted to come out of this unscathed and alive.

I didn’t know if Adryan had picked out the clothes and undergarments himself or had just barked out the orders for someone else to get them. But it didn’t matter either way, because I had them—I wore them—because of him.

I took a steady breath and left the bathroom but froze when I saw that big-ass monster of a dog sitting across from me, his back to the bed, his large, dark eyes unwavering.

My hands started shaking; then I curled them into tight fists at my sides.

I licked my lips and took a small step forward. The dog didn’t move, didn’t even blink. He was like a damn statue. A terrifying, living, breathing huge statue that could bite my face off.

I didn’t move my focus from the animal and took a step to the side, then another one, feeling a little braver when all he did was watch me. All he did was turn that big head in my direction.

It was when I got to the door and reached for the handle that he stood and padded over to me. My heart lurched in my chest, and I froze, unable to move for fear he’d see me and run and attack. All I could picture was him wrapping that massive jaw around my throat and ripping it out in a matter of seconds.

But surely Adryan wouldn’t leave the dog with me if he thought I was in danger? Then again, I knew nothing about the man. He’d taken me somewhere after he killed people. I closed my eyes as the memory of him ripping that man’s throat out slammed into my mind.

Although I couldn’t say I was sad to see my attacker go—not when it was abundantly clear he’d had no problems hurting me—the fact that I actually witnessed someone’s life being taken was surreal and nauseating.

When I opened my eyes, I realized the dog was now standing right in front of me, his body so big that his head came up to my belly. My throat tightened, my mouth watered, and fear licked at me so hard I couldn’t move, could hardly even breathe as I stared down at him.

“Good boy,” I whispered with a shaky voice. The animal cocked its head to the side and whined like the damn thing could understand me. And then he started wagging his tail, that heavy weight bumping and pounding against the ground.

He butted his head against my arm, his nose wet and cold and shocking me back to my senses. When I didn’t move, he did it again, pushing his nose into my hand, this low, very deep noise leaving him.

“Holy shit,” I whispered harshly, feeling my eyes grow wide. It was as if he was urging me to get on with it and go. “You want me to go? Okay. Okay.” I didn’t take my focus from him as I reached out for the handle and turned it, pulling the door open. The dog padded out ahead of me but stopped in the hallway and looked back. Waiting. “This is fucking insane,” I murmured but followed.

The hallway was just as ornate as I’d imagined, with a thick oriental runner lining the center of the wooden floor. I stood there a moment, looking down each side of the hallway. To my left were a few other rooms, the doors closed, the hallway forking off on either side. To my right was much the same, but I did make out a massively wide staircase.

Before I could decide which way to go, the dog was moving toward the staircase but stopped to look at me again. This was the craziest situation I’d ever been in, and I was so perplexed and filled with so much anxiety that I found myself following this massive beast like he’d lead me to the exit.

And that”s what I wanted, right? The exit to escape the circus that was currently my life? The situation made zero sense and should have scared the shit out of me and frozen my mobility out of terror, yet I felt this strong curiosity to keep digging, to keep exploring.

And so I followed the dog as he led me down the wide staircase. There was a crystal and antler chandelier that hung from the arched ceiling, and as weird as that combination sounded, it was strangely beautiful in a gothic romance sort of way.

At the bottom of the stairs, I stopped and glanced around. The front door was right here, so close. An escape. I took a step toward it but felt this weirdness move through me. This all seemed too easy, right? I could just open the heavy glass-and-iron entrance and step outside. I shook my head at my internal thoughts. Too easy.

I heard the deep rumble of voices coming from down the hall and froze, standing there for a moment, everything around me saying not to go down there, not to follow the voices. Yet what did I do? I turned and started making my way through this massive home that made me feel uncomfortable yet at ease all in the same breath.

I followed them even though instinct told me to go the other way. It was as if I couldn’t listen to reasoning and common sense in this situation and now fully understood the saying “curiosity killed the cat.”

There was a set of massive wooden double doors at the end of the hall partially open, and I kept my footing light as I made my way toward them, stopping just far enough to where I couldn’t touch the door but I could still see through the crack.

I saw Adryan standing in the center of the room, his hand shoved casually into the front pocket of his slacks, a worry line creased between his eyes as if he was concentrating on something—that or something pissed him off. And I was going with the latter.

I changed positions so I could see the other side of the room. My pulse jumped a little bit higher when I saw two large men standing side by side just a few feet from Adryan.

They were just as big and burly as him, just as heavily muscled. The similarities between the three men led me to believe they were possibly related, with the same short dark hair, identical hard, and that unwavering, arrogant expression.

And then the two men”s shoulders stiffened, their posture changing. I knew they realized I was watching them, yet I couldn’t move away, couldn’t escape. The two men looked over their shoulders at me, their expressions hard like stone and closed off like an impermeable wall.

Definitely related to Adryan.

I found myself looking back at the man who’d taken me somewhere unknown, who made me feel on edge and unstable with just a look.

A man who made those darker parts rise up and be praised.

Adryan slowly cocked his head to the side, just an inch, just enough that our gazes clashed.

And then he winked.

My body instantly reacted.

Blood racing through my veins. A flush rising up my neck and covering my face. My heart pounding. My body softening.

All from a fucking look. An expression. A knowing glance that he was very aware of the reaction he caused within me.

I stumbled back and turned around, unsure where to go but knowing I was going to have a panic attack if I stayed close to him.

He made me too heightened, too aware of… everything.

At first I didn’t know where I was going, and not because I didn’t know the layout of the home. My mind was a muddled mess, my feet and legs carrying me across the plush carpet, and then I was standing by the front doors.

My hand was curled around the brass handle, and for a moment I just stood there panting, my head dizzy, my vision blurry. I should’ve been genuinely terrified… and I was. But there were so many other emotions and feelings moving through me that it was like a car accident inside my mind. It was hard to separate the pieces, to think rationally.

I opened the front door, the wood, glass, and iron heavy, the metal between my fingers cold and unyielding. The wind instantly whipped my hair around my face, the frigid winter air tightening my skin and causing goose bumps to form along my arms. There were spotlights trained across the snowy property, but all I could see was the vast darkness, trees, and land, and… nothing.

I shivered, but it had nothing to do with the cold and everything to do with the man who was currently standing right behind me.