“You’re looking at me again,” he said icily.
My cheeks flared as I focused on his hands as he finished tying the makeshift bandage. His skin was flawless. The way he moved reminded me so much of his panther, that I once again struggled with fantasy overlapping reality, wondering what sort of fairytale I’d fallen into.
With a curse under his breath, he planted his palms behind him, kicked out his legs, and crossed his ankles—lazy as the feline behind him. Every line of him said calm but his eyes sparked with sultry warning just waiting for an excuse to hurt me. “Alright then.” He tipped his head, hair sliding across his collar. “I’ll play.”
I swallowed hard, blinking away whatever spell he’d cast on me. “Play what?”
“You haven’t heard of Brimstone Industries?”
“Nope.” I frowned, searching my mind and all those years I’d worked in Snowflake Corp before I couldn’t. “At least, I don’t think I have.”
“You haven’t heard of the Ashfall dynasty?”
“If I’d come across an article with you in it, I would’ve remembered.” I rolled my eyes. “Believe me.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Oh, God.
Rook...you idiot.
My cheeks flamed.
If he truly had spent the last twenty years in here alone, I doubted he would have the social skills to see my embarrassment and deftly grant me another question.
Instead, he never looked away from me, rage building with every breath.
“Eh, you know...” I waved at him as if it was obvious. “Give me some self-respect so I don’t have to say it out loud.”
“Say what out loud?”
“Oh, come on, really?”
“Come on?” He scowled. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
“I mean...”
Ugh, fine.
Sucking in a fortifying breath, I blurted, “You have to know what you look like?” I rolled my eyes, finding it far too easy to talk to him, despite the fact that each night he went hunting and each morning more bodies were dragged out.
“What I look like?”
Okay, this had gone on long enough.
He hadn’t killed me yet. He’d actually saved me—somehow. I felt better than I had in ages. He’d come at the behest of his panther and for some inexplicable reason, I didn’t want this conversation to end, even though my heart pounded with nerves.
I was drawn to him despite myself.
Highly aware of him in every part of me.
Yes, he was a killer but...hadn’t that all been in self-defence?
“Alright, don’t murder me for this, but...” I inched closer to Whisper and scratched his scruff, hoping he would come to my rescue if my honesty backfired. “I would’ve remembered you if I’d ever seen an article about you because you’re gorgeous, okay?” My mouth ran away with me, my filter completely gone. “You’re not just gorgeous, you’re...” I blushed so hot, I could’ve roasted marshmallows on my cheeks. “Obscene. You’re the sort of beautiful that should come with a hundred hazard labels and a two-hour safety briefing. There. I said it. Happy?”
He stared for the longest moment before saying dryly, “Is this you trying to get me to have sex with you?”
My brain crashed back into the episode from before. “What? No. Obviously not. I—” Words skidded everywhere. “I-I was paying you a compliment.”
“It won’t work. I won’t sleep with you.”
“Did I ask you to?”
“Sounds like you just did.”
I fought the urge to rub away my shame induced goosebumps. “Well, you’re safe. I’m not looking for that.”
I didn’t dare tell him that I was one of the rare ones who hadn’t tumbled into bed with someone yet. I’d been a little too messed up, for a little too long, to attract a partner in that way.
In the art of seduction, I’d flunked well and truly.
“You’re not?” His eyebrows arched with such innocence, such shock, he made my heart patter. A question escaped me before I could censor. “Why...why does everyone want to get knocked up by you?”
His expression didn’t change, but something dark pooled behind his eyes.
I sighed, expecting him to refuse to answer me. After all, we were strangers and technically enemies, but then he lifted his hand and glanced at his wrist, bound with its black bandage. The centre glimmered wet, revealing he hadn’t stopped bleeding. “Because of this.”
“For your blood?” Suspicion iced my spine. “Why?”
“Doesn’t matter.” His gaze cut to the door, his body tensing to leave. “What does matter is they’ll kill for it.”
“Why?” I asked again. I didn’t want him to leave. Not until I had some answers. Perhaps if I understood this prison, I would be able to sleep again. I’d be able to relax and not rush headfirst into another attack.
His fingers strayed to his chest, pressing against his heart. His sleeve sank down his forearm, revealing the silver cuff in full glory. His gaze caught mine, cutting and cold. “Because I’m the last of my line. And if I die, Brimstone Industries dies with me.”
I searched his face for more answers. “I don’t understand.”
“Yes, well.” He smirked. “You’re not exactly very smart. We’ve already established this.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You can go now.”
He snickered as he stood. Whisper raised his head and yawned.
Taking a step away from the bed, Lucien muttered, “So...you’re not trying to seduce me?”
I scowled. “Really? This is getting old—”
“And you’re not here to kill me.”
“For the hundredth time, no.”
He tipped his head, the long fall of his hair slipping against his collar. “Fine.”
“Fine what?”
Snapping his fingers, he waited until his panther leapt from the bed to join him. “From now on, you’ll serve me.”
I blinked. “I’ll what?”
“I believe you. You’re not like the others.” He turned toward the door, his fingers trailing over Whisper’s glossy black pelt as the cat prowled beside him. “Come to the palace tomorrow morning. That isn’t a request.”
My temper tried to rise. “You could say please.”
“I could.” He looked over his shoulder, his eyes cold and gorgeous. “But I won’t. See you tomorrow, little liar. Don’t be late.”
Chapter Seventeen
I GROANED AS ANOTHER BLAZE OF pain threatened to knock me out.
My hands balled where I sat outside in my private courtyard—the only place the little murderers couldn’t sneak up on me because none of them could enter the palace without Whisper ripping off a limb or two.
All day, the burn had been steadily getting worse as if they drip-fed me a bigger dose—as if they sensed I’d been talking to someone. Wanting—against all my instincts—to trust someone.
I couldn’t deny she did things to me. She muted the pain when I was with her somehow. She gave me a chance to breathe without agony. And I hated that I wanted to believe her. I wanted so fucking badly for her to be telling the truth that she wasn’t like the others, but I also couldn’t be the fool I’d been in the past.
I’d trusted Marcus would look after me after my parents died.
I’d trusted the board members who all came together to oversee Brimstone Industries until I came of age.
And look at what that trust got me.
The stars above twinkled as I slowly got a handle on the searing despair and sucked in a breath. Tipping my chin to the sky, I tried to imagine the brightly lit city skylines in Beijing whenever my parents took me on business trips.
For twenty years, the only society and cityscapes I saw were on the rare movies that Marcus uploaded onto a tablet for me. I had no idea what the world was like these days. No idea if flying cars existed or if humanity was on the brink of ruin.
Slipping off the deck lounger, I padded barefoot to the small cherry blossom tree that my father had planted when he first bought this estate for my mother. It didn’t like the English winters but in the summer, it did well enough.
