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“Your makeup and other things you had at the house were packed up earlier today and are in those drawers. You’ll find bubble baths, bath bombs, and bath milks under the sink along with some candles. I’ll help you get out of that dress and then leave you to take a bath.”

It’s clear to me that Cora has her instructions and won’t be deterred from them.

I follow her back into the dressing room and take one last look at the Dior gown in the full-length mirror.

It’s such a shame for a dress like this to only be worn once.

Without the train attached it looks like a formal evening gown, so maybe I’ll have the chance to wear it again.

I turn around and Cora deftly unhooks each of the endless row of silk buttons then carefully unzips the dress. She helps me to step out of it and then hangs it on a padded white satin hanger in the closet.

“Will you be needing anything else from me for the night, Ma’am? Perhaps some tea?”

“No, thank you, I think I’m good here.”

I am absolutely not good here, but after the horrified look she gave me over the insinuation that Aidan was keeping me prisoner in this house, I feel like it’s best for me to keep things light.

When she’s gone, I go back into the bathroom.

I don’t cover the window with the curtains, though.

I don’t care if someone happens to look up here.

Aidan’s men are likely terrified to even glance in this direction.

I set out and light candles then fill the tub with water and some jasmine and gardenia bubble bath.

I wonder where Aidan went in such a hurry?

The last thing I expected to happen on our arrival was for him to abandon me, but I’m relieved more than anything at the temporary stay of execution.

Ever since the reception started to wind down, there have been insistent butterflies jumbling around in my stomach.

I try not to think about the fact that Cora was no doubt directed to order me to bathe. Why? To prepare myself for use by His Majesty, Mr. Stryker?

Ugh. Before today I would have thought “Gross”, but I can’t pretend I don’t find him at least physically attractive. It’s probably better that I do—for my own sake—but I definitely don’t feel safe with him, nor do I have any intention of remaining his captive bride forever.

I’m not going to just forgive the fact that he’s stalked me practically my entire life and forced me to marry him. I try not to think about what else he might force me to do and if it would really be force.

I slam the door in my mind that considers for a single moment that I would willingly fall into bed with this man. After all he’s put me through? Not just recently, but in our childhood.

I wasn’t told to go anywhere or do anything after my bath, so maybe he’s coming for me. A part of me hopes he’ll somehow forget I’m here. Maybe he got called away on Mafia business. I don’t care what anybody says, this guy is mob.

Nearly an hour passes, and I finally drain the water and get out of the tub.

When I return to the dressing room wrapped in a towel, there’s a cream-colored bag embossed with a logo I don’t recognize on the chair near the mirrors.

The label says Fleur Du Mal . Bad flower.

Light pink and cream tissue paper sticks out of the top.

I take the small card out of the envelope.

Put this on and wait.

I swallow around the lump in my throat. It’s Aidan’s handwriting.

I remove the tissue from the bag. Inside is a sheer white lacy, well, it’s hard to tell exactly what it is until I put it on.

And once the lingerie is on, it’s… still hard to fully explain.

There’s a plunge neckline in the front. The top part is a halter style with white silk ribbons that tie around my neck with the ribbons going halfway down my back.

It makes me look very much like a gift Aidan intends to unwrap for himself.

The bottom part is a very short ruffled flutter of material that barely covers my pussy in the front and my ass in the back.

When I turn in the mirror I can see just how sheer and see-through the entire thing is. I may as well not be wearing anything at all. I think I’d feel less naked if I actually were naked.

It makes me very self-conscious. I go back to the bag. There was something else inside.

I let out a relieved sigh at the white silk robe I find in the bottom of the bag.

It’s short, also barely covering my ass, with long flared sleeves.

But aside from the shortness of it, it covers the other piece well and makes me feel slightly more dressed.

I’ve just tied the sash when I smell that green woody scent wafting into the room.

I spin around to find Aidan standing in the doorway of my dressing room, his arms crossed over his chest, leaning against the door frame.

He’s wearing black boxer briefs and nothing else.

There are more tattoos on his chest: a fire-breathing dragon, celtic knotwork designs, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary with light and flames coming out from her.

My mouth goes dry and I spot a stray drop of water sliding from his wet hair down over the head of the snake.

I want to lick it. And suddenly my mind is associating other things with snakes as I notice the very large bulge in his briefs.

I take in a sharp breath and really hope that it’s not as obvious to Aidan as it feels to me.

He extends a hand. “Come, you’ll sleep in my bed at night.”

I might be about to hyperventilate. When I cross the room and take his hand, he scoops me up in his arms and carries me out of my suite and down the hall to his bedroom.

One of the goons outside my door looks at me longer than he should, but the guards outside Aidan’s door look straight ahead. Complete professionals.

One of them opens the door for Aidan, and he carries me inside.

Where my room was light and bright and welcoming, Aidan’s looks like a cave or a tomb.

Or maybe a dungeon. It’s fully hard and masculine in every detail.

There could never be any question that no woman’s delicate design sensibilities has ever touched this space.

A sword hangs on one wall with an intricately carved black hilt.

The room is one large open floor plan unlike mine which is divided into sections.

He also seems to have a large walk-in closet and probably also a connected bathroom, but there’s no sitting area in this room, though there is sleek black furniture.

The walls are dark burgundy. Aidan puts me down, and my feet sink into plush black rugs.

It feels like some kind of animal fur beneath my bare feet, and I don’t want to think about whether or not they’re real.

The moonlight shines in through the large glass window and door that leads out onto the balcony.

The room feels chilly, unlike my room. I’m not sure if it’s Aidan’s presence, what I’m wearing, or if his room actually is colder than mine.

He notices my shiver and guides me closer to the bed.

A fire is lit in the fireplace, and as we move closer to it the room returns to a more comfortable temperature.

He moves to a side cart and pours an amber-colored liquid into a small, stout glass. He passes it to me.

I hesitate.

“It’ll relax you.”

Is he going to get me drunk? Is he planning to fuck my unconscious body? I take a small sip and make a face. He just chuckles and motions for me to hand it back to him. I do, and he goes to sit in a leather wingback chair beside the fireplace. The flickering flames cast him in sinister shadows.

His gaze drags over me then back finally to my eyes. A slow wolfish smile spreads over his face.

“Take off the robe.”

My skin flushes under his intensity, and my mind goes back to the clipped orders he texted the night I foolishly let him watch me.

“Aidan, I…”

“Take. It. Off.” His intense stare is steady on me as he takes a sip of the amber liquid.

Scotch? Whiskey? Bourbon? Are those all whiskey?

I don’t know “guy drinks”. I can make a Cosmopolitan, a Mai Tai, a Pina Colada, a White Russian, Sex on the Beach even, but the difference in these too-strong amber liquids poured straight from the decanter elude me.

He arches a brow, waiting for my compliance. Has he never understood the word No ?

“And if I don’t?” I challenge.

“I’ll turn you over my knee for being a bad girl.”

I’m not sure if he’s being serious, but Aidan has never struck me as a comedian. But would he really do that?

I untie the silk and let the robe fall to the floor. I wish I had more experience… any experience. I’m sure that if I knew my way around a dick, I wouldn’t be so timid right now. I’m sure I’d know how to make him work for this instead of just handing over my compliance without a fight.

If I had more experience, I’d know how to talk to him, how to seduce, how to hold back.

You’d think you’d learn that in cheerleading or in the sorority house.

But stereotypes aren’t always true. I made a good show of being worldly, making up stories to pretend experience I didn’t really have, but I was never serious with anybody, and I wasn’t about to lose my virginity to someone I didn’t even care about.

What a waste, since I’m about to lose it to someone I’ve hated my whole life.

“Aidan, why are you doing this? You could clearly get anyone you want. You don’t have to resort to… this. You don’t want someone who doesn’t want to be with you.”

His jaw clenches, but he otherwise shows no emotion about this.

“You want me,” he says.

“I hate you. I’m not some thing you can own.”

“We’ll see.” He gestures with his finger for me to slowly turn so he can view me from all angles.

I don’t know what else to do, so I follow his instruction. This is all so surreal. I keep waiting to wake up. I keep hoping that everything from the moment the government took all our stuff to now is just a nightmare, and it’s all going to snap back to normality soon.

I’ll wake up back in my room with all my things still there. My car will be in the driveway. I’ll go on another stupid date with another stupid boy pretending to be a man. And everything will feel safe and normal again

Aidan tosses back the rest of his drink, stands, and puts the glass on the cart. He prowls closer to me, and I can’t help but take a few steps back.

I don’t know if I can do this. I don’t think I can just let him… I wonder if it would be different if I didn’t know who he was. If he was just some strange mystery, could he charm me? Win me over? Would my attraction overwhelm my understanding of what was really going on?

Goosebumps prickle over my skin as he strokes the side of my throat.

The way he touches me... like he has every right.

It’s the same way he touched me in the car that first night, and I’m starting to think this might be his signature move.

In another set of circumstances, I’d give it a five-star review: “Would ride this ride again.”

He runs his thumb over my bottom lip then replaces it with his mouth.

I’m too scared of what’s about to happen to fully give myself over to his kiss.

I can’t even relax under his touch the way I did in the church with hundreds of witnesses.

I can’t relax when we’re alone, when there are armed guards outside this door, when no one would come to save me if he decided to really hurt me.

He pulls back and turns me away from him. I feel the tug on the silk bow tied behind my neck. It’s the only thing holding everything up. When he unties it, that’s it. I’ll be naked, trapped with my stalker.

“This is weird,” I say.

He lets go of the silk, and I can feel the stillness in the room. I’m not sure if he’s even breathing.

He spins me around, his face a mask of fury. “What did you say to me?”

I take several steps back. He moves toward me so fast to close the distance that I just keep backing up until I hit a wall. I look up to see the sword hanging right over me.

He seems oblivious to the weapon right above us and cages me with his hands.

“Maddie, what did you just say?” His voice is hard and dark. Deadly.

“I-I don’t know.” And I don’t. I’m racking my brain trying to figure out what I could have said to set him off, and I know how deeply in trouble I am with this man. If I had the slightest thought that somehow I might be safe, that he might not hurt me... that hope is gone now.

“Weird.” He practically growls the word at me.

“I said this was weird! I’m scared, Aidan. I didn’t call you weird.”

“You did. Hundreds of times when we were kids.”

He’s right. I can’t even pretend I didn’t.

“What did you expect? You followed me around all the time. That’s not normal behavior!”

He takes a long slow breath as though he’s trying to hold back violence.

He is so unhinged. I want to scream at him, but I’m too scared to do anything but cower.

The tears flow down my cheeks, and I’m trying to keep my crying quiet, but there’s no point in hiding, he sees them, and I can see he’s disgusted by them.

Aidan turns away from me. “Get in the bed.” He points imperiously at it as though I don’t know what the fuck a bed is and couldn’t figure it out without his direction. Must be my dumb blonde genes.

I don’t argue. I get in and pull the covers over me.

He gets in on his side and I flinch when I think he’s moving toward me, but he’s only turning off the lamp. The only light in the room now is from the dying fire in the fireplace.

“Please, don’t hurt me.” I hate myself for how weak I sound right now, but even a grown man wouldn’t have much of a chance against this guy.

He’s just got too much power. Too many resources.

Too many people who will kill for him without question.

To be so physically strong on top of it is just too much.

“I’m not going to touch you. I’m going to sleep. I’ll figure out what to do with you in the morning.”

He turns away from me.

Oh God, what does that mean? Is he going to kill me? Let me go? Move me to my own room and just keep me like some pet? I wonder how thin these walls are. Did one of his guards hear him raise his voice to me just now?

I take several slow shaky breaths trying to determine what I’ll do and how I can get out of this alive. I’ve always been afraid of Aidan Stryker. He may not be weird anymore, but right now he’s the most dangerous he’s ever been.