Page 127 of Let the Game Begin

His golden eyes narrowed, and Neil began to look at me as though he no longer knew who I was. His fingers clamped down on my hips until I felt a wave of pain sweep through my body. I rocked on him again, but almost immediately, I had to stop because Neil was resisting me. I held still, astride his hips, and Neil touched my sides softly, moving up along my rib cage to my breasts. Then, he squeezed them so hard it made me whine and flinch in pain.

“You’re hurting me,” I told him, confused.

The game was over, the lust was ebbing and the pleasure had evaporated. His eyes had been emptied of all human emotion so completely; in that moment, Neil scared me. He let his hands fall down to our thighs. His gaze wandered to the junction of our bodies, and he frowned. He began to breathe irregularly, like he was struggling for air.

“Neil,” I said, taking his face in my hands. He rubbed his throat and then his chest, opening his lips in a desperate attempt at speech.

He looked like he was suffocating.

“Neil!” I spoke louder as I raised myself off him. His eyes were pinned to the ceiling and his eyelids didn’t move—it was like he’d taken a strong dose of some paralytic toxin.

“Neil! You’re scaring me!” I shook him but he still didn’t move.

“Neil, please! I’m going to call for help!” I scrambled off the couch and searched for one of our phones, but before I could find one, he clamped down on my wrist and shoved me face-first against the wall. He was strong; it didn’t take much for him to throw my body around. He pinned my hands behind my back and pressed against me, crushing me.

“You’re done hurting me,” he whispered menacingly in my ear.

I had no idea what he was talking about. I began shaking and burst into the tears from the confused feelings that lanced through my chest like a lightning storm.

“Get out of here. Get the hell out of here, Selene.” His tone of voice changed suddenly again. This time he sounded like he was pleading with me. He released me abruptly, and I turned around, covering my bare breasts with my forearm.

I looked at him fearfully, and Neil put his head in his hands, confused and disoriented.

“I said get out of here! Now!” he shouted, grabbing a nearby vase and hurling it at the wall. I gasped, snatching my sweater off the couch and hurriedly pulling it on, not even bothering to look for my bra.

There was no time. I needed to get out of there. As fast as I could.

Suddenly, Neil began smashing everything within his reach. While he vented his rage, I gathered up my coat and bag, and with both my hands and legs still shaking, I somehow managed to get to the door.

I turned back once to look at him and the room he was systematically destroying. The vase, the painting, the television, the chairs… Everything was reduced to broken pieces. My eyes stretched wide, and with my heart in my mouth and fear slithering snakelike through my body, I threw open the door and ran panting into the yard.

Something had summoned the secret beast inside him. I had watched the metamorphosis in his eyes. His golden gaze had been absorbed by hisdilated pupils and a shadowy veil had passed over his face, a dark, ominous expression had replaced the look of desire, and I’d known right then that Neil was no longer with me.

I knew then that there was a monster living within him.

And I…

I had seen it.

29

Selene

I’m coming to see you tomorrow.

That was the text Jared had sent me the night before while as I was in the pool house with Neil.

He hadn’t added a salutation or any cute nicknames of his own. He’d just warned me that he was going to come find me, and I wasn’t sure if I was actually ready to face him.

I was still shaken up by what had happened with Neil. Not just by our intimate moment when I’d felt the voluptuous satisfaction of his kisses, his hands on me, my own desire coursing through my veins. But also by the moment when all of that had been rapidly replaced with a blind fury for which I still had no explanation.

What had made him react that way?

I had no idea. Just like I had no idea how I was supposed to act if I ran into him the hallway, or the kitchen, or the garden.

It was for this reason that I’d gone to classes that day and returned home in the afternoon while trying every way I could think of to avoid Neil. It was seven p.m., and at eight thirty, Jared would be there. Then, we were supposed to go out. I had no idea where he was planning to take me, as he’d been rather vague and mysterious when he called a couple of hours ago.

After taking a shower, I wandered around my room in futile anxiety. The time had come to have the talk with my erstwhile boyfriend. I would no longer be able to keep this secret inside me—a secret that was rapidly growing too big to hide.