So I’m going naked? I shiver from the thought. From all the things I’m imagining right now, all the ways Eli might touch me underneath the table, his calloused hands sliding across my thigh.
I clench my legs together.
Can I even do this? Can I play along without losing myself in this game of his?
The girl turns around and beckons me. “C’mon. He’s waiting.”
“Wait,” I say as she opens the door again. She pauses, so I ask, “What’s your name?”
“Mary,” she replies.
“I’m Amelia,” I say. “Nice to meet you.”
I don’t want to be nice, and nothing about this is nice, but I don’t want to burn my bridges just yet. Maybe she could be of some use, someday.
She snorts. “Eli already told me your name.”
Right. Of course, he has. Nothing is secret here in this House of Sin.
She promptly spins on her heels again, her movements featherlight like a bird fluttering off.
I swallow and push myself away from the wall again. I could stay, fight against the command to have breakfast with him, but what good would that do me? Just so he can come and give me more punishment?
The mere thought of being pinned to that bed and forced to come again makes me quiver. It’s better for me if I just do what he wants for now.
So I sigh and walk toward the light that shines brightly behind the doors. Adrenaline shoots through my veins as I open the door farther and step outside into what feels like purgatory itself.
But the second I look up, my jaw drops. I’m on the first floor of a giant hallway with an overlooking balcony covered in flowers. The entire thing is made out of stone, like an ancient castle. Red carpets line the hallway, and seats and statues are placed along the way between each room. All rooms have numbers, and when I gaze over my shoulder, I notice one on mine too: Twenty-six.
I look back around and stop to momentarily gaze over the edge of the balcony. The room below is huge, maybe as big as an entire theater, and there is one broad wooden staircase in the middle, with two smaller circular staircases at each side, leading all the way up to the second floor. Paintings cover the ceiling, and a giant circle in the middle consists entirely of window panels, allowing the light to fill the area.
Never in my life have I seen such opulence. Then again, it’s not like I went out a lot, especially not with people as rich as Eli must be. Unless … this isn’t just his house but someone else’s too.
I gulp at the thought and push it away as we make our way to the staircase.
There are so many rooms here that it makes me wonder what’s in each of them. How many people live here? Or is this all just one man’s ultimate fantasy come to life?
When I was still at the library, some of those books near the romance fiction aisle would sometimes mention houses like this, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought I’d end up in one myself. Nor in the position that I currently find myself in.
As we approach the stairs, the girl suddenly stops at the top.
“Mary.”
His voice makes my heart stop.
“You can leave the rest to me now.”
I stop walking and watch the girl bow out. She signals me with just her eyes to come to the top of the stairs. My legs are shaking, my body feeling heavier with every step I take. When I turn and look, he’s right there at the bottom of the stairs, waiting for me.
A soft smile forms on his lips, one that tugs at my heartstrings. “You look … beautiful.”
Beautiful … a compliment that would bring the flush to my cheeks, even when this black dress is just another prison strapped around my body.
A prison he put there just to enjoy himself.
I don’t smile back.
“C’mon.” He holds out his hand, and we engage in a stare off for a moment before I finally cave and take the steps downstairs, each one of them making my heart pound even harder.
I reach out; even though my heart tells me not to, my brain knows this is the smarter choice. When our hands touch, it’s as if lightning shoots through my veins, and it reminds me of the first time we met. When he was still only a handsome stranger I wished would sweep me off my feet.
How poetic, these fantasies of mine.
“Thank you for coming,” he says, and he lifts my hand to his mouth again and presses another kiss to it, almost making me forget what kind of a man he really is. If he is a man at all because underneath this chiseled, rugged face and black-suited façade hides a beast.
Before releasing my hand, he looks up at me from underneath his dark lashes and says, “Did you sleep well?”
My lips twitch. This is a test, isn’t it? It has to be. Someone like him wouldn’t ask a question like this without it having some ulterior motive attached. Because this question’s followed by the most smoldering of stares.
“I … Uh …” I mutter. “Yes.”
A dirty smile creeps up onto his lips. “Is that the truth?”
My eyes widen, and I feel caught in the act. The truth … he mentioned wanting that before. But this isn’t the truth he was looking for.
He leans in and whispers into my ear, “Do not lie to me, Amelia.”
And I can’t fucking breathe.
“I …”
“It’s okay,” he says, and he leans away again, just a little. Not far enough to create space, but far enough to look me in the eyes and caress my cheek. “You will learn that it comes with a price.”
My pupils dilate, and my lungs contract. Only when he moves back can I breathe once again.
Should I say sorry? No, that probably wouldn’t matter to him. He isn’t the type to accept takebacks. I’ve learned that much in my short time of being here.
“Now, let’s eat,” he says, a dirty smile on his face. “I’m sure you’re famished.”
I nod and swallow, and he releases my hand. It suddenly feels cold and bare. He turns around and walks off, and I follow him, unsure what else I should or can do. A part of me wants to run and hide, but an assistant or guard is standing by at every corner.
Do they all work for Eli? And is this Eli’s home? Or is there more to this than I can see with my own naked eyes?
I notice Eli has already gone up ahead into the dining room, so I stop gaping around and rush to the door, terrified of more consequences. But the minute I step inside, I pause, and my lungs constrict to the point of making it impossible to breathe.
There he is, situated at the head of the table, two men right beside him, both looking at me as if I’m the star of the show.
We’re not alone.
Chapter 12
Amelia
Three men sit upon their throne, gazing up at me as though they own this room and everything in it … including me. But they sit on a throne of lies.
Who are these men? Eli never told me there were more involved. How far do his schemes go, and what do they plan on doing with me?
Eli beckons me. “Come.”
I take a deep breath and step forward, every step I make reverberating against the tiled floors to the same rhythm as my thrumming heart. Each step is another one closer into the clutches of these men. But there is no turning around, no going back.
This beautiful house is my prison now, whether I like it or not, and I have no choice but to play their game and hope I get out unscathed. But at what cost?
“Sit,” Eli says, but he doesn’t point at any chair, and there are many.
Which one do I pick? Is this a trick? A game I need to win?
My mind can’t stop thinking of all the possible options, all the things that he could do to me if I pick the wrong one, and for some reason, a flash of excitement flushes through me.
I swallow hard as the three men look at me while I approach one of the chairs.
One of them has a laid-back look on his scruffy face with his dark brown hair cut short at the top, but a darkness hides in those pristine blue eyes. The other guy at the table looks away as though h
e’s annoyed by my mere presence. With that blond beard and undercut ponytail, he looks like a goddamn Viking. But that might just be my imagination running away with me.
Eli taps his fingers on the table, clearly impatient, and I grab the chair and scoot it back. It’s farthest away from them all, on the side of the guy with the long hair. I figured I had better chances of not being gaped at by sitting here, but I’m not sure it’s doing me any good. Eli’s watchful gaze is still upon me, and now I’m starting to wonder if I picked the right chair.
“Interesting,” he murmurs. “You chose a seat farthest away from the three of us.” He adds a possessive smile, one that reminds me of that time he came into my room and plucked me off the bed and peeled away my clothes to put me in the tub, one that makes goose bumps scatter on my skin.
The guy with the blue eyes sighs. “Eli, enough with the games.”
Eli lifts his finger, and the guy promptly shuts his mouth. Eli must be the one in charge then.
I don’t respond. Not even as the stares and silence get awkward.
“We should introduce ourselves.” He glances over at the men at his right-hand side and then his left. “Go on.”
The blue-eyed guy raises his brows at me. “Name’s Tobias.”
“And who are you?” I ask, raising a brow too.
He sports a smile. “I am Eli’s advisor.”
I lean back in my chair and fold my arms. “Advisor to what, exactly? Eli’s little games?”
His tongue briefly darts out to wet his lips. “I see you’ve already been acquainted.”
“So you know what he did to me, right?” I ask, full-on staring at him now. “That he stole me right out of the library and locked me up in here like I’m some kind of prisoner?”
Tobias doesn’t reply. He just stares right back at me, so I roll my eyes and sigh. “Thought so.”
Eli clears his throat and nods at the blond-haired guy. “That’s Soren.”
“He can’t tell me himself?” I ask.
Eli blinks slowly. “He speaks only when needed.”
“Why is that?” I ask.
Eli narrows his eyes at me, and the whole room suddenly feels tense as hell.
Did I overstep?
“Enough questions. Let’s just start with breakfast, shall we?” Tobias says.
“Right. Where are my manners?” Eli muses.
He claps his hands, and out pour waiters with plates of food that smell delicious and make my mouth water. Each plate is filled with copious amounts of fruit, various types of bread, some butter, a glass of milk and coffee, as well as some eggs and a few strips of bacon. It’s more than I could possibly eat even though I’m famished.
Is this a test too? Are they waiting for me to make a choice? To eat or grab a knife and throw it at them? Or maybe the food is poisoned.
Panic rushes through my veins. They wouldn’t, right? Or maybe he would … after all, Eli did say I did something bad and that I deserved to be punished. Maybe death is a part of the punishment.
I’m not so hungry anymore.
“Amelia …” Eli muses. “Aren’t you going to eat?”
Even his accomplices, Tobias and Soren, are eating to their heart’s content. The first with elegance and manners, the second as though he’s devouring a spit roast at an eating competition.
I turn my gaze at all the delicious food lying on my plate and bite my lip, wishing I could take a bite, wishing I knew if it would kill me or not. But I don’t want to take that chance. My life is still worth living.
At least … as long as I manage to get out of this mess. Because who knows how long these men will keep me here.
Eli cocks his head when I don’t respond. “You are hungry, though, right?”
I throw him a deadly stare.
He looks at me as though I’ve lost my mind. “It’s food, Amelia. You don’t trust us, do you?”
“No,” I reply shortly. Tobias snorts, which makes Eli throw him a look to shut him up.
Soren hasn’t even spoken to me since I came here, and I don’t think he’ll jump in any time soon either.
Eli gazes at me again with blazing fury in his eyes. “It is not poisoned, if that’s what you think.”
Maybe. Maybe not. Who knows. I can’t trust a thing he says. So I shove the plate away so I don’t have to smell all that good stuff.
“Fine. You don’t want to eat? Then don’t,” he retorts, his voice in stark contrast with before. He picks up his fork and starts slicing his bacon into bits. “I gave you a choice.”
“What … is that supposed to mean?” I almost choke on my own words.
He stops slicing for a moment. “It means that you have a choice. In everything. And that choice determines the next actions.”
“Next actions?” I hold my breath.
He can’t mean …
He looks up at me with devilish eyes. “Every choice has a consequence, angel.”
Tears well up in my eyes, and in a bout of rage I throw my napkin out onto the table. “I didn’t ask for any of this!”
“Yes, you did,” he replies stoically as though it doesn’t affect him to see me in pain like this.
The other men are silently complicit in his trickery.
“If I’d known, I would’ve never said those words,” I growl.
He takes a bite of his bacon and swallows it down before replying. “But you did, and now look where we are.”
“You made this choice, not me,” I say, shaking my head.
“This is all on you, angel,” he says, leaning back in his chair. “Look, we can talk about it all day long, but nothing will change. You will still be here, in my domain … my house, doing exactly. What. I. Say.” He pronounces each syllable separately as if to add more weight to the already heavy words. “And it is about time you started to respect that.”
I grind my teeth and refuse to respond.
“Now eat. This is your last chance.”
I stare at the plate in front of me, wondering what will happen if I don’t do what he asks. Before I came downstairs, I told myself I’d comply, but that was before I learned more men were keeping me here. More secrets, more lies. Even if I played along, who knows what else he keeps hidden from me. What else he could use to keep me here.
Even though I hate conflict with all my guts, I cannot in good conscience do as he wishes. But what will it cost me? And am I willing to throw it all away just over a bit of food?
I gulp, considering my options.
All three men are busy eating their food, but not me. I can’t stop staring at it, like it’s a ticking time bomb. Tick. Tick. Tick. A clock on the wall behind me adds to the pressure. Soon there won’t be any more time left to make the decision.
Eat or don’t eat. That’s the choice. But I can’t make it, no matter how hard I try. I scoot closer, pick up my fork and pull the plate closer. But one look at that gleeful face makes me stop in my tracks again.
This is what he wants. He wants me to give in and let him control me. To admit I was wrong and he was right all along … that I need to be punished … that I deserve whatever I have coming for me.
No way.
I shove it back even harder than before, throw my cutlery onto the table, and scoot my chair back, standing up in defiance against my captors.
“No.” I say it with such certainty that I almost have myself fooled.
My heartbeat rapidly increases at the sight of his eyes that flash with rage. It can only mean one thing … punishment.
Eli
All the forks and knives are placed down on the table.
What is she doing?
Is she trying to … defy me?
A smile tugs at my lips. Well … I never imagined she’d have this much spunk left in her after what I did. But maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised either, considering I picked her.
“Shouldn’t have done that, angel,” I murmur.
I raise my hand, and her eyes follow. As my fingers snap, her pupils dilate, and
two of my men appear from the sidelines to take her away.
She doesn’t squeal, doesn’t kick, doesn’t even fight them off. Like a true queen, she accepts her defeat and walks with them, as though she knew this was the only outcome to her defiance. With grace, she allows them to escort her out of the room, but right before she exits, she still throws one last glance over her shoulder.
Not at the food, though I’m sure she’s more than hungry and wishing she would’ve stayed. No, the stare is directly pointed at me, as a sort of threat. As if she means to say … I might give in now, but I’m not going to yield to you.
But we both know I will never stop until she does.
And when that time comes, I will savor it most of all.
Chapter 13
Amelia
A hundred and thirty hours.
I counted each minute.
Not at the beginning … when it was still easy, and I still had energy left to entertain myself in other ways, like by reading one of the many books from the bookshelf on the wall or cleaning the room I was forced to inhabit anyway. But slowly, my vision started blurring with each letter I tried to read, and my body was quaking every time I tried to scrub the sink with a cloth from the stack. And eventually, I could only lie in bed and wait.
And wait I have … every minute spent counting the time.
Next to the locked door, that clock hanging on my wall, ticking away, is my biggest enemy right now. It forces me to come face-to-face with my new reality: That I am stuck here and don’t know for how long.
A hundred and thirty hours … that’s how long I’ve been here since I told Eli “no.”
I didn’t know then what it would mean.
What I would be giving up.
That it would force me not to only admit that I am not free to do what I want, say what I want … but also that each of my actions have consequences.
Instead of eating that scrumptious food, I chose to deny him just because of fear and pride.
Dark Wish (A Dark Romance) Page 8
