Page 31 of Carnal Games

It’s why I’m shocked to see that the doorknob of one of the rooms has a little bit of dust gathering on it.

Weird.

“Oh, thank God,” I mutter when it opens, and I step into the pitch-black room.

Using the torchlight of my phone, I find the switch and press multiple buttons. Instantly, bright lights burn my eyes for a nanosecond. The second my vision adjusts and lands on the picture frame on the wall, my hand flies to my mouth.

A shudder racks my body, leaving my knees buckling.

I’m inKian’sroom.

Chapter Eight

Iris

It was this moment I was desperately waiting for all night.

But it’s nothing like my imagination.

A single step and I’m transported into the land of my obsession.

A younger version of Kian stares back at me, rooting me to the spot. Everything falls quiet in my head. Like it’s just me and him.

I’m drawn to the frame like a moth to a flame. It’s too high up the wall for me to reach and touch. All I can do is look to my heart’s content.

He looks to be in his teens, standing with his arm thrown over a laughing Nathan, who gazes up at his big brother with nothing but pure love in his eyes. Even the young Kian is too rugged for his age. Yet undeniably striking.

His eyes—a captivating light gray—capture me in their depths. A color so rare and intense that it looks unreal. Straightblack eyebrows, slightly curling at the edges, slash over them and complement his angular cheeks and square jaw.

My heart rejoices, beating faster like someone breathed life into it. Awareness tingles down my spine. I inhale sharply, catching a faint scent of spicy cologne swirling in the air and teasing my nostrils.

I wish it were more prominent so I could note it down. Afraid this is as close as I’ll ever come to the enigmatic man, who has altered my brain chemistry.

Peering around the room, I absorb every nook and cranny, imprinting it into my mind with my sight.

Everything is untouched, dirt caking every piece of furniture. No sheet covering it up to protect against dust. Like nobody has ventured here for years, letting it haunt and fester with memories of the person who once resided here.

Cruelly not allowed.

It’s at odds with the rest of the lavish mansion.

What could Kian have possibly done to be forgotten like this?

It can’t just be from him wanting to start his own business. Something else has transpired. Something awful.

Like he just upped and left one day, leaving behind all his belongings.

Anybody would’ve been spooked upon stepping in here and run away.

Not me.

I’m eager to study and explore what lies inside these four cream-colored walls. Pressing my fingertips against the wall nearest to me, I trail them as I circle around the spacious room. I reach the tall shelf built into the wall, filled with trophies and memorabilia. They’re left discarded when they should be cherished.

Beside it, there is a wooden desk and a gaming chair. A collection of notebooks sits on it, an alarm clock, the arrows etched in perpetual nine o’clock. There’s also a gold wristwatch, no longer working. I pick it up and dust off the glass before setting it back.

The four-poster bed is unmade. The blanket curled in one corner. While one of the pillows has a dent in the middle from where Kian rested his head.

Swift anger boils in my bloodstream.