"Maybe I'm impervious to violence, as well,” I replied. That was a lie. I attracted violence like a magnet. But I was a survivor. I turned my head to the side and added in a low voice. “When you grow up the way I did, you get used to anything, I suppose."
You did. And especially with dark things. A lot of shit went down that night. Death was just part of it.
Silence fell, but strangely, I wasn’t tempted to start filling it with babble. We just sat there, companionably.
Then, after a time, the Count stirred. "Shall we watch a movie?"
"A movie?"
Amusement glinted in his dark eyes. "You are familiar with the concept, I assume?"
I laughed and leaned back in my plush chair, feeling strangely lighthearted. "Yes, I'm familiar. What did you have in mind?"
He clicked the remote and scrolled through titles. "How about Dracula?"
I grinned. "Old school. I like it."
He scowled at me. "Not that old."
But I didn’t have time to dissect his reaction anymore as he dimmed the lights with the remote and the movie started.
I’d be lying if I said I watched the movie. Well, I scanned the screen from time to time and pretended to follow the plot, but my attention was on the Count more than anything else. It was impossible to sit so close without being keenly aware of his every move. From time to time, our fingers accidentally brushed against each other, his leg would shift, or our feet would touch.
Finally, when the film ended, he stood. "Thank you for indulging me. Now, I shall retire."
I glanced at the clock. 9:40p.m. Strange. The Count was usually in bed with a woman by now, having gone at it for at least a few hours.
"You don't have a date tonight?" I asked, the surprise having loosened my tongue, but who could blame me? It was the first night since I started working here that he wasn't entertaining a woman.
"Not tonight. Have a good day, Kassandra. And rest well."
I watched him walk out and then stretched in preparation of my nightly duties. I had an easy schedule for tonight, just the—
My eyes fell on the bar counter. Something glistened in the light.
Were those…keys?
I was there in an instant. My. God. Keys. He’d left them there, next to the remote. His fucking key chain and on it, the key to his study.
I swallowed as my fingers trembled with excitement.
The hardware store closed at 11:00p.m. If I hurried, I could make it there, copy the key and the return before I got caught, and it all went to shit.
I didn’t stop to think twice. I grabbed the keys and flew to my room, snagged my purse and shrugged into a sweatshirt as I hurried down the stairs. Minutes later, I was speeding down the road, I was halfway into town before I realized the reason I couldn’t see so well was because I’d forgotten to switch on the headlights.
Chill, Kass. Getting a ticket right now will only make things worse. Yeah, I’d have to break into the hardware store to make the copy, then, and add that to my list of crimes.
I make it inside the store and in minutes, I’m out again, my copy of the key lying cool in my palm. I freaking did it. Step One. I had the office key, safe and secure.
I grinned and closed my eyes. Halfway there, baby. Jeremy, we’re halfway there.
Giddy with relief, I zoomed back to the mansion—this time, with headlights on—and I was practically dancing the two-step as I stepped through the front door. I pulled out the Count’s keys from my purse and gripped them tightly to keep them from jingling.
Now, the only thing left was to return the keys back to the—
The shadows to my left shifted.
Shit.
It was the Count.
5
“You have returned?” the Count’s deep baritone slid over my skin like a caress even as my heart threatened to burst from sheer panic. “Where did you go, Kassandra?”
The rule. I couldn’t lie to him. I swallowed and licked my dry lips. “It’s a surprise.” It was. A bad one.
“Surprise?”
“Yep.” I forced my lips into a smile and gripped the keys tighter, willing them with all my might to not make a sound, not one freaking sound.
“And what surprise is that?”
“If I tell you, it wouldn’t be a surprise then, would it?” I challenged, my nerves standing on edge. And as far as surprises went, trust me, he really didn’t want to know about this one.
“I’m not keen on surprises, Miss Blackwood.” The disapproval hung heavy in his voice.
So, I was Miss Blackwood all of a sudden? What happened to Kassandra? Did that mean something…bad?
He stepped closer, looming over me in the darkness less than an arm’s length away. His eyes seemed to glint as they searched mine.
Every cell in me wanted to run, but I couldn’t. I stood there, pinned by his gaze like a deer caught in headlights. After several attempts at clearing my throat, I rasped, “Can I get you something, Sir?”
I winced. Since when had I ever called him ‘sir?’ God, I sucked at being a criminal.
It was dark, but the moonlight was bright enough to allow me to see the suspicion that marched over his face.
“Must I remind you of the rules, Miss Blackwood?”
“Yeah, I know them. Don’t lie, steal, or disobey.” A bead of sweat trickled down my cheek.
“Then, do not disobey me. Tell me of your surprise.”
Well, this was great. He had me fenced in here. My thoughts whirled through various possibilities, but I couldn’t think of any combinations that would get me out of my predicament this time.
Real fear stabbed through me as I bit the corner of my lip in thought, accidentally biting a little too hard in the process. Shit. I winced a little as my mouth filled with the coppery tang of blood.
The Count sucked in a long breath.
Yeah, I’m thinking. Think, Kass. Think.
Deep inside, I hated betraying him like this.
Hated lying.
Hated that I had a life that required such things in order to survive.
Then, he was there, standing right in front of me only inches away, his enigmatic gaze locked on my mouth.
All thoughts of keys flew out the window and all I could think about was how much I wanted—needed—his mouth on mine, his body on mine. God, what would his lips feel like? Just once, I’d like to kiss him, if only to see if he lived up to my fantasies. Something told me he would. No, he’d exceed them, surely.
Then, as if he’d read my thoughts, I felt his hands cupping my face. Gently, he tilted my chin up as he leaned down, angling my mouth closer to his. I felt his breath on my lips and this close, his eyes seem wider, wilder even, but perhaps that was just a trick of the moonlight and shadows.
Slowly, ever so slowly, he closed the distance between us until, at last, our lips met.
Nothing could have prepared me for the way his mouth took mine. Raw power and primal need mixed with a surprising tenderness.
His tongue danced over my lips and into my mouth with an expertise that left me weak-kneed and melting against his hard chest, helpless to the sensations he sent rocketing through my body.
No wonder there was an endless revolving door of women to this place.
If this was his kiss, just what was he like in bed?
Then, when I was sure this moment couldn’t get any better, he crushed me close and sucked my entire lower lip into his mouth, drawing upon it so deeply I tasted my own blood as he drew me in.
God, I didn’t know you could have an orgasm from a kiss alone, but I was so close. I was on the precipice of a cliff, dangling off the edge as I clung desperately to him in.
His arms embraced me, one hand sliding to the dip in my lower back, pressing our hips together, the other hand trailing down my spine.
My legs quivered as I came in his arms, deep pleasure crashing over me like waves.
As if from miles away, I heard the keys fall to the floor.
Then, h
e pulled away and lifted his head, leaving me feeling bereft. Lost. And the next instant, he was gone, vanishing into the darkness.
I drew a shaky breath wanting to run after him. I actually took a step forward, but then, my foot collided with the keys to send them skittering across the marble floor.
Shit.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit.
My heart stood still, numb with horror.
So close. I’d almost lost it all over a kiss—but what a kiss—No, Kass. Kissing your boss won’t end well.
Especially when he could have caught you with his keys.
Panicking, I snatched the keys from the floor and ran through the halls like a madwoman, back to the media room. In three seconds flat, I’d dropped the keys on the bar and then I was back in the hall, running to my own room.
Once inside, I slammed the door shut and leaned against the wood, shaking.
It took me longer than I cared to admit before I felt strong enough to stumble to my bed. I knew I should be working. I had rooms to clean, rugs to vacuum, and laundry to wash, but I couldn’t move, not with the strength of the fear and pleasure running riot in my head.
It must have been nearly an hour later before I recovered my composure to venture outside the door once again.
I set about my nightly tasks, nervous and on edge. Just what would I say to the Count should he appear again?
And had he seen the keys?
Finally, I saw the gray light of dawn that signaled the end of my shift and I stumbled back to room, exhausted.
I hadn’t seen hide nor hair of the Count. And exactly how I felt about that, I couldn’t say beyond part of me was relieved and the other, devastated.
After taking a long, hot shower and after verifying for the tenth time that my copy of the key was safely tucked away, I finally dropped myself into bed and allowed my eyes to drift shut.
I awoke to the warm rays of the sun on my face. For a minute, I just stared at the ceiling in a kind of peaceful daze.
Then, I remembered the key.
I sat bolt upright.
The key. I’d done it. I’d gotten the damn key. Step One of the plan was complete.
Then, I recalled the kiss. Slowly, I ran a fingertip over my lips. With the strength with which the Count had sucked on my lower lip, I’d have expected it to feel sore, tender, but it didn't.
Had it been a dream?
No. It couldn’t have been.
Yet… how could a mere kiss have pulled such feelings from me? Had I been so desperate, so lonely, that I’d overreacted to such an extent?
Yeah, that made more sense, knowing me.
With a snort, I rolled out of bed, dressed and headed downstairs to the kitchen. I needed coffee. Badly.
But the instant I shoved open the doors, my heart froze.
Don.
Just sitting there at the island, tapping his fingers on the granite.
“Strange, isn’t it, just how empty this place is during the day?” he asked in a conversational tone.
"How did you get in?" I asked.
"Someone was careless," he said. "The front door was unlocked."
I felt sick with the realization that I had done that. I had left it unlocked when I came back last night. The kiss had distracted me. Leonard was gone.
This was my fault.
I drew a shaky breath and then pointed to the door. “Out,” I choked. “You can’t be here.”
“Well, now, if you answered my texts I wouldn’t have to come now, would I, Kass?” he asked, jabbing his finger onto the granite with every word. “You’re two weeks into your month and I’ve heard nothing. Nothing. You’ve got to give me something.”
I thinned my lips and scowled. “I got something, but I’m not talking about it here.”
“Oh?”
“Yes,” I spat. “Get out and I’ll give it to you.”
“Meet me on the road. Ten minutes.”
He left then, but not before going out of his way to brush himself against me in his typical power play.
I ran back to my room and grabbed the key with shaking fingers. Part of me is relieved to be rid of it. No key. No evidence of my betrayal.
“Didn’t think you’d show,” Don greeted me as I stepped out of my car on the side of a dirt road.
“I told you, I’m good for it,” I replied, marching over to slam the key in his outstretched palm. “The key to the office.”
He grinned and then held the key up to the sunlight, as if an inspection alone could prove it genuine. “You know what this means, Kassy?”
“That you should get out of my hair?” I asked in a waspish tone.
“No,” he chuckled. He bent down to plant his face in mine. “This means you’ve got more in you than you’re admitting.” He pulled back and brandished the key in my face. “I’m not waiting another two weeks for the passcode. Now, you’ve got only a week.”
I froze, finding it hard to even breathe. “You can’t do this.”
“Oh, I can, and I am,” he retorted. He chucked me under the chin and then opened the door of his car, but before sliding inside, he paused to add “Remember, Jeremy will want you to do your best, now.”
I stood there, unable to move.
I couldn’t fail, I knew that, but now? Now, how can I possibly succeed?
6
I couldn't stop shaking. Don left and I sat in my car, engine idling, hands on the steering wheel, my heart racing so fast in my chest I legit started worrying about a heart attack. Even the bright day surrounding me seemed oppressive, as if choking me so I couldn’t breathe.
I don't remember driving back to the mansion or getting to my bedroom. I do remember pulling out my small box of supplies and sitting in front of the fire with it. I remember staring at my distorted reflection in the tiny razor blade. I remember pressing it to my thigh and feeling all the stress and pain and anxiety bleed out. I remember the release. Then, the shame and guilt.
There had to be a better way of dealing with my tortured soul. But I had yet to find one, and honestly, my life was in such a shitty place did it really matter? Wasn’t this the least of my worries?
After I cleaned myself up, I crawled into bed and tried to sleep, but regret wormed its way into me. I hated betraying the Count, when he'd been nothing but kind to me. Not to mention generous.
I hated helping Don, but how else could I get out from under his oppressive thumb that turned to a dangerous fist at the first sign of challenge? In the end, it was my own damn fault for getting so deep into the drug scene, for owing him so much money. That and the fact he was the only one I knew who could get my brother and I fake IDs to start a new life away from this hell hole… I had no choice.
Right?
Yeah, Don was a master at dangling what you needed in front of you, and if that didn’t work, following it up with what you feared the most if you didn’t deliver.
I needed Jeremy to be safe. And that was exactly what Don dangled and threatened me with.
I’d do anything for my brother.
I tossed and turned, and when the sun rose high enough in the sky, I had to use my sun-blocking curtains to get any sleep at all.
After everything that had occurred, I’d thought I would have had nightmares, but instead I dreamed of the Count, of his lips on mine, his hands running over my body, of him doing to me what he did to all those other women who left looking so smugly satisfied. I woke so horny I was already halfway to an orgasm, so I closed my eyes and pretended my fingers were the Count's and used my imagination to finish myself off.
Nothing like starting the day desperate to shag your boss. I cringed at the thought of meeting him again, considering the last time we’d been together he’d kissed me into an orgasm. Just how do you look your boss in the eye after that?
In the end, I only managed about four hours of sleep before I gave up entirely. There was, after all, plenty of daylight left before I needed to start my shift.
I decided to surprise Jeremy with a trip
for ice cream. I needed to make sure he was okay and had a safe place to stay. As hard as all this was for me, it was so much worse for him. He’d been closer to our mother, and she’d protected him as best she could from our father’s temper. Without her, Jeremy’s life had fallen apart.
I grabbed my keys and headed for the front door. The scuff of my every tiptoed step and the slight jingling of the keys sounded so loud in the unnatural silence. How could the Count sleep like the dead during the day? But then, it matched. He kept his house as cold and silent as a tomb.
My car was the only thing that didn't fit in this pristine glamour of wealth that surrounded me. It sat in the corner of the driveway like a wart on a model's face—entirely out of place. It took a few tries before the old beast coughed to life, sounding like a long-time smoker on its last breath.
I pulled up to Jeremy's school just before the final bell, and his face lit up when he saw my beat-up Subaru in the pick-up line.
He climbed into the front seat, filling the car with the smell of sweaty teenage boy. "I didn't know you were coming today," he said, grinning from ear to ear.
"I wanted to surprise you. Ice cream or froyo?" I asked, though I already knew the answer.
"Ice cream!"
We made it to the ice cream parlor in under three minutes, and after we’d seated ourselves on a pair heart-shaped, wrought iron chairs in the back with our decadent treats, Jeremy told me about his day.
"I got the highest grade in my class on our bio test this week," he said with pride. "My teacher wants me to participate in the science fair this year." Then, his face dropped. "There's a fee to enter though, and the materials cost money, so I told her I couldn't."
"I can get the money," I said.
He shrugged. "Where would I work on it? Where would I store it?"
All good questions. Home was out of the question.
"Where are you staying?" I asked.
"I'm still at Rick’s house, but I can't stay much longer. His parents are starting to ask questions. I tried renting a room at a motel, but I need an adult to sign in," he said.
"I'll go with you to take care of that today," I said. "And look, my plan is coming together. I'll get us out of here. I swear it."
Wanted Box Set Page 5
