Page 128 of Malicious Claim

Five minutes later, she followed Nicolai down the hallway, keeping a few steps behind him. They moved deeper into the house, past the main living area, down a dimly lit corridor few ever walked.

At a set of double doors, Nicolai stopped. Before he could reach for the handle, a voice stopped him.

"I'll take it from here."

Makros emerged from the shadows, his presence as commanding as ever. Nicolai gave a brief nod and turned away.

Makros pushed the door open, revealing a space Leila had never seen before. The room was large, the dark wooden floors gleaming under the soft overhead lights. The walls, painted ina deep smoky gray, made the space feel both intimate and imposing.

At the center of the room stood a heavy, dark framed wooden bed with thick, carved posts, each fitted with discreet yet sturdy metal loops. Black silk sheets covered the mattress, a stark contrast against the deep red comforter folded at the foot of the bed.

But it wasn't the bed that caught Leila's attention, it was everything else.

Along the walls, carefully arranged, was an array of equipment she didn't dare imagine Makros using. Black leather cuffs, some padded, some lined with metal studs, hung neatly beside coils of silk rope and metal chains. A shelf held an assortment of blindfolds, gags, and collars.

One section of the room featured a sleek, padded bench with adjustable restraints, positioned near a cabinet filled with instruments whose purposes Leila could only guess at. A Saint Andrew's cross stood against the far wall, its polished wood and steel restraints gleaming under the low lights.

On a side table, an elegant black box sat open, revealing polished silver cuffs, a leather crop, and a small set of delicate, gold-plated clamps. Everything was arranged with precise care.

Leila swallowed.

Makros smirked as he noticed her unease. "You look surprised."

Leila's voice came out lower than she intended. "I didn't know this was here."

"Oh," he replied, cupping her jaw. "But it is now. And you'll be spending a lot of time in this room."

She didn't respond. Her gaze just drifted back to the bed, to the restraints embedded into the frame, to the way everything in this space seemed designed for control. It was her first time seeing a real life sex dungeon.

Chapter Forty Nine

Bound to Truth.

Makros moved towards the door and locked it, the sound of the click being just a little bit louder than it really was in Leila's mind.

She stood still, watching as he took measured steps forward, deliberately rolling his sleeves up his forearms. How on earth did the sleeves end up neatly rolling over those strong muscular arms?

He loomed over her, standing in front of her, as he always had when he'd had to remind her of how small she was beneath him, how easily he could occupy the space around her.

Damn him! She hated how that singular act always made her feel threatened and aroused at the same time.

"Do you want to explain to me what you were really doing in the bathroom, now?"

Leila's pulse pounded, but she didn't step back. She reminded herself not to be weak or scared.

"What do you mean?" She lifted her chin. "I went to do what every other girl does. To... to free myself and fix my makeup."

Makros felt insulted and his gaze darkened. "No, Leila. Do you think I can be lied to so easily? You were meeting that man in the yellow shirt."

She rolled her eyes. Then threw an arm in the air. "Man in yell—? Okay, no. I'm not the one who got caught on camera with some guy in a yellow shirt. You should be questioning Stefanos, not me."

Before she was able to lower her hand, Makros clutched her wrist and yanked her close.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me you didn't follow him into the hallway."

She fought to release her hand but to no avail. "Let me go. I didn't do anything wrong."

"Wrong answer." His fingers flexed around her wrist tighter, ensuring she couldn't go free. "And for believing that you can lie to me, you'll be severely punished."