by Eva K. More
“I do! But-”
“No.” Beast sighed and stood up. He prowled like a panther as he came closer to her, and begrudgingly, she had to admit that his physique was imposing, what with his broad shoulders and tapered torso. It was too bad he used it to hurt people.
“But that wasn’t what I was going to say,” Kat said and gripped her cup with both her hands, letting the warm china soothe her palms.
He stopped a short distance away from her and leaned his hip against the counter. His eyes made a quick sweep across the window before landing on her, one eyebrow raised. “No?”
“No.” Kat had to hold off her first reaction of stomping her foot on the ground. She wasn’t a child, even though she wanted to throw a tantrum at that moment. “I was curious how it could be open for incoming calls only, and more precisely, why?”
“Only me and the person this cabin belongs to know of this place and the phone number. This way, the communication stays clear whenever one of us is here. And it’s a way for me to contact you when I’m gone,” Beast said.
“And who’s that person?”
Beast’s eyebrows rose slightly. Unfortunately, she could not decipher if in surprise or annoyance. “Somebody who won’t bother us. That’s all you need to know.”
One of the traits that frustrated her the most about this mysterious man was that he sometimes would only give her half-answers. But she was aware of her situation. Curiosity had been a big part of her character and being confined to a dull life due to her upbringing; she had made it her goal to ask her friends about everything.
She had thought that if she couldn’t experience something, she at least wanted to know everything in theory. She had grilled her friends about kisses and parties and sex until she had been satisfied with every detail. She had always wanted to know who hooked up with whom, who vandalized the neighbor’s house, and what the motivation was behind each and everything.
But she got the feeling that Beast did not like her curious nature. If she could hide that part of herself from her grandparents, surely, she could pretend with Beast too. But heck, how was she supposed to find out crucial information then? It wasn’t like Beast just told her what she needed to know.
For now, though, she would not venture into the subject of this other mysterious person. Obviously, Beast didn’t want to share his knowledge with her. Maybe it was a place he met with a woman? Was this a romantic getaway for him and his lady friend? Did he even have a girlfriend?
“And what if I need to contact you?” She asked, distancing herself from her thoughts. She couldn’t allow her mind to go thinking about Beast and sex at the same time.
He frowned at her. “Why would you need to do that?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” She also leaned her hip against the counter, facing him fully and mocking his posture. “Some burglars might appear-”
Beast scoffed. “That’s highly unlikely here, in the middle of a forest.”
“-then I could get attacked by wolves-”
“You’re not little red riding hood,” he deadpanned.
“Fine, what if I just need human contact in order not to go crazy all alone here in this godforsaken place?”
“There’s a TV, books, and I’ll even leave an iPad here. There’s no internet connection, but you can play with some apps.” When her face fell, he added, “I think you should survive without Facebook for a while.”
She didn’t need to see his lips to know that there was a smirk beneath the mask.
“You are an asshole,” Kat said, not able to keep her mouth shut. He didn’t seem too upset if his light chuckle was any indication.
“It’s astonishing how well you already know me, little bird.”
Kat just rolled her eyes.
ot too long after, he left her with a short instruction to keep herself busy. He wouldn’t be gone too long; he had told her. It wasn’t like she would worry about him. During the long hours, she realized that she couldn’t care less about the dangers of his job, but she feared he might not return to get her out of this place.
At least this time, she wasn’t held like a captive in a small prison cell. She had the whole house at her disposal and could move outside for a little fresh air. The weather had gotten colder now. Maybe it was the trees that kept the warm sun rays from reaching her, but without his sweater, the front porch felt much too chilly.
She found herself wandering around the house, taking a cursory look at the trees surrounding the small cabin, noticing that her night vision hadn’t fooled her. All around, there was nothing but a forest. She stepped on the branches of an exceptionally sturdy looking tree and tried to see anything beyond the sea of trunks. Far and wide, nothing was indicating the presence of civilization. With a heartfelt sigh, she climbed back down and went inside.
She didn’t know when Beast would be back precisely, and it was getting slowly dark outside, but she was adamant about looking for neighbors, even though she didn’t really want to run and hide from her silent and sometimes frustrating savior. Being honest with herself, Kat admitted that running would be foolish and that he was probably the only one that could help her.
But she wanted to call her grandparents.
There were no houses she had seen so far, so she thought that the next one was a reasonable distance away. It meant she could not walk out today. Despite her need to reassure her family, she wanted to be on Beast’s good side for the time being – he was the only one that could bring her back home after all, and it wouldn’t look too good if he came back and she was gone. She didn’t want Beast to think that she was too much trouble and stop helping her anymore.
Besides, she needed to make a plan and prepare because she didn’t trust herself on a blind trail anymore.
She decided to scan the perimeter of the house in the following days and look for individual tracks so she could settle in which direction to start walking. Her grandparents would have already filed a missing person’s report. Although it hurt her to think that her grandparents were waiting for a life signal, she knew that given her involvement with the mafia, she had to tread carefully now.
After her decision, Kat spent a good portion of the day rummaging through the house and looking for things that might be of help for her mission – flashlights, a rucksack maybe, hunting knife in case there were wild animals. Not that she had any idea how to fend them off or if she was even able to hurt another living being.
It was strange how it appeared to be an ordinary cabin but held no personal belongings whatsoever, no pictures or valuable objects. Except for the iPad he had left her, there were no modern technologies at the house. The coffee machine was an older type with filter, the TV was connected to a VCR, and the not-really-working phone reminded her of movies from her childhood.
Oddly she didn’t miss the internet and social media as much as she wished to have her phone and call her Baba, to hear her soothing voice, telling her that everything would be alright in the end.
As Beast had so aptly said the previous day, her mistake of walking the streets in a bit of rebellion had cost her dearly. Not only had she entered a world she hadn’t ever wanted to know existed, but Kat was also stuck at this place with the only other person she could talk to being a masked criminal.
Thankfully the kitchen was full of supplies, and she cooked herself spaghetti carbonara, as she loved Italian food, and there were enough eggs and bacon. The Russian cuisine her grandparents had taught her would have been her first choice if it weren’t for the missing ingredients. There was no beet for Borscht, no mushrooms for beef stroganoff, no fish or seafood whatsoever.
Actually, there was enough food for sandwiches and easy fixes – lots of bread, hams, cheeses, and the likes. Kat also noticed little vegetables and fruits. Beast definitely wasn’t a cook, and obviously, he didn’t consider the important role food played in one’s health. Now she could understand his foul disposition if this was all he ever ate.
Cooking was something she was used to doing
in her normal life. A life that had only been average mere days ago, but now felt like an eternity away. Kat told herself that she had cooked so much because she was used to cooking for her grandparents, but in reality, cooking always helped her disconnect from her boring life.
If Beast was hungry when he came back, then he could take it or leave it, but she certainly hadn’t made the meal to feed him. Maybe. Who knew if he were more agreeable with a full stomach.
In another cupboard in the living room area, she found a collection of old VCRs, some were movies from before her time, but most of the VCRs were children’s movies that she recognized from when she was little. How odd. Ever since she had stepped into the cabin, a déjà vu teased the corners of her brain, but she couldn’t grasp it.
When her fingers touched the cassettes, a warm feeling of familiarity spread across her chest, and her mind instantly went to last night’s dreams. Silver eyes, childish laughter, and green leaves. Kat thought that it probably was the solitude playing tricks on her mind because there was no way her memories could be linked to this place.
Maybe it was her mind missing the warmth of her grandparents and remembering her childhood when she felt safe. Perhaps she associated it because those were the only signs that some time ago, at least another human being had stayed at this house. Maybe a family, somebody with a heart.
In the evening she watched a bit of TV, her eyes getting tired with the low quality of the picture. Playing with the antenna, she managed to find a clearer channel, but the shows they showed were boring and were making her sad. Watching people acting as though life was easy was not the best thing for her at the moment. When she dropped into bed around midnight, the moon was high, not yet full, and Beast still hadn’t returned.
***
It wasn’t until the early morning hours that a strange noise awoke her. Groggily, she realized it was the clanking sounds of the bathroom; the shower was running.
Fully awake at this timeless hour of the day, when the sun hadn’t yet brightened up the sky, she found herself filled with curiosity, as she thought about the skull mask and whether or not Beast took it off when showering. Surely, he would be completely naked beneath the water.
She did not just picture that beast of a man naked beneath the shower.
Kat knew that it was a bad idea to wait outside the bathroom door to see his face, so she lay quietly in bed and waited until she heard his bedroom door open and close again. Solitude was a horrible feeling, she pondered because, no matter how aggravating Beast was, she still yearned to see him and talk to him.
Lumbering to the door, she held her breath before opening it and stepping outside; she was sure Beast would be sound asleep soon, having returned this early in the morning. Walking across the spacious front room, she maneuvered herself to the windows behind the TV and moved the curtains aside to check if the car outside was really his black BMW. Then her eyes took notice of the figure standing on the front porch, and she stared in wonderment.
When had he walked outside?
Covered in shadows, Beast was staring off into the barely blue horizon with his arms at his sides and his straight back facing her. Curiously, she noted that he was holding something in his hand, something shiny and- it was his mask!
She noticed the exact moment he heard her startled gasp because his shoulders tensed, and he put the mask back on, securing the two latches on the back of his head. A little disappointed, she followed him out onto the porch.
Beast was barefoot, wearing only soft-looking, black jogging pants. His muscular upper body was completely bare except for the intertwined tattoos on his arms and chest, and Kat thought that he was the perfect picture of a proud and invincible warrior.
She wore nothing but his sweater above her sleeping shirt. The cold air made goosebumps appear on her bare legs, but the heady look he gave her warmed her up from the inside.
“Shouldn’t you be asleep?” he asked, not appearing fazed at seeing her there.
Up close, his body looked even more spectacular. The dark ink carved into his skin – which she realized consisted not only of unrecognizable signs but of real pictures as well – defined the solid muscles of his body. There was a skull on his chest, a melting clock on his left side, the grim reaper on the right. She didn’t need to ask him what the meaning of the last one was.
His stomach was more convex than concave but still firm and finely sculptured. A man his size simply couldn’t be defined like a Thai boxer or be sinewy like a runner. He didn’t look anything like the bronzed men Andrea, and her other friends had ogled on the stages of various international fitness contests either. Instead, his body oozed raw power and animal strength. Potent. Virile.
There were no tattoos beneath his navel, but she saw a narrow trail of dark hair that disappeared beneath his pants. Kat gulped, hoping he hadn’t noticed her ogling. But when she lifted her gaze, he was watching her with heavy-lidded eyes, his orbs gleaming wolfishly.
“I-” Kat had to clear her throat. “I heard the shower, and I’m not tired anymore. It’s not like I had a lot to do yesterday,” Kat said shyly. Would he ever show her his face? And why did he hide it? He didn’t strike her as being vain. Maybe it wasn’t so much his face that he was hiding, but the mask was something he was protecting himself behind. Was he a different man without the mask?
There was something lazy in his eyes right now. It made her think that the beast hadn’t returned as fast as the mask had been pulled on.
Beast stretched his body, and his chest expanded with the movement as he leaned his head back.
“I didn’t want to wake you.” He didn’t say sorry, but that was probably the closest she would ever come to some sort of an apology from him.
She lifted a shoulder in nonchalance. “You just arrived?” Was this his version of not being gone too long?
“Yes.”
“Aren’t you tired? Shouldn’t you be in bed?”
The chirping of birds was increasing from the nearby trees, and slowly, the morning mist was clearing. Beast strolled lazily up to her.
“You are right about that.” Without losing eye contact, his hand snaked around her waist. Even though she had on the thick layer of his sweater, she felt an electric current warming her skin. Then he pushed her slightly, but his hand remained coiled around her waist. “But, you should also get inside; you’re shaking.” His voice was low and husky.
For a split second, Kat remained precisely where she was. Barely a breath away from his body, the coldness was forgotten.
“I don’t mind the fresh air.” And more than that, she smelt his unique scent mixed with soap.
“What about the wolves, little red?”
“You are here, so I’m not afraid of them.”
The low sound he made in his throat was positively feral, and his eyes were gleaming. With his mask reflecting the morning light, he looked more like a beast than a human. But his warmth was comforting, intoxicating.
“Little bird, you should fear me more than any wolf out there,” he said. “Even if wolfs don’t tend to eat little birds like you, wolfs are still beasts.”
“Why? You’re keeping me safe.”
His grip on her tightened only for a fraction. “Remember that story. The girl thought the wolf was her grandmother.”
“I think of you as the hunter.”
“Don’t,” he growled, and she shivered.
Kat couldn’t bring herself to look away from him. “Then, are you deceiving me just like the wolf in the fairytale?”
Beast kept looking at her; his mesmerizing eyes were unyielding to any emotion.
“Are you going to kill me?” she asked in a whispery voice.
“No.”
“Are you going to hurt me?”
He was silent for a moment. “Just keep in mind that I come from the same place Ivo is from. We’re players in the same game.”
She narrowed her eyes. That may have been true, but he was different from Ivo. At least with her. She knew
; she felt it in every fiber of her being.
“And the man beneath the mask?” Kat asked.
“To you, he doesn’t exist.” He finally stepped back from her, creating a reasonable distance between their two bodies. “Don’t forget why you are here and get inside.”
Feeling the wall he put up between them, she went dutifully into the cabin and spent a few minutes collecting her jumbled emotions. It spoke volumes of her incipient lunacy that his solid body and simple touch could make her so nervous. And wanton.
“So, any progress with Ivo?” she asked conversationally, not yet ready to part, and watched him stroll into the kitchen, her eyes drinking in the sight of his chiseled back.
He grunted rather absentmindedly in response, taking the pot out of the fridge and sniffing its contents through the holes on the nose of his mask. “Played his lapdog the whole day. Did you cook this?”
Kat couldn’t keep the small, proud smile off her face at his incredulous sounding query. “I did. You can have some, I kind of misjudged the ingredients.” She said, which, of course, wasn’t true. However, Kat wouldn’t tell him that she made the food with him in mind. It was meant as sort of a bribe- If she were nice enough, maybe she wouldn’t need to trouble herself with walking into the woods.
Beast shot her a suspicious look.
“Of course, you cannot eat with the mask on,” Kat said innocently.
He narrowed his calculating eyes and rasped softly, “maybe later.”
“When you’re alone?”
He didn’t acknowledge her taunt. When he closed the lid, she sat down on a barstool on the kitchen island, refraining from sighing, and regarded him carefully.
Kat wished he were easier to read, as she wasn’t used to people keeping so much of themselves inside. It wasn’t only his hidden face, but the calm, untouchable attitude, and whenever one of his personality traits became more visible, she felt elated in some strange way. Never had she met such an enigma before, and she wanted to find out more.
Besides, focusing on Beast took her mind off her current situation. Thinking about her grandparents, like she had done most of the time yesterday, made her sad.
