Chapter 16: The Next Morning

“Knock”

I knock on her door with my left hand, while balancing her breakfast on a tray in my right. It is a precarious situation, for if I miscalculate just once it will all fall to the floor. When she doesn’t answer, I carefully place the tray on the ground. Then I pull my keys out of my pocket while standing up and unlocking the door.

Before I pick up the tray and enter, I hesitate and say through the door, “This is Julian. I am coming in, so don’t be startled. I have your breakfast here, and by the looks of it the food will taste scrumptious.”

Smiling, I kneel and pick up the tray just before I hear a sound coming from inside. Hurrying to stand, I cautiously open the door and then I see her mouth hanging open and her face becoming a shade of red. When I turn my head to take in the whole scene, I notice that she was trying to leave and that the window has been broken. She must have realized too late, that we are higher up than she expected, and she would end up hurting herself if she tried to make her escape.

Shaking my head, I grumble before I say anything. “Arabella, that was not smart. Now you will be cold at night. Don’t you think things through before you do them?” I ask the last part sarcastically because in a way I can understand her frustration, but she doesn’t understand my side at all.

Placing the tray down on the table in front of me, I think about this for a minute. If I let her go, she will run home right away and tell everyone what she has learned. They will do one of two things, either think she is crazy or come after us and try to kill us all. How can she not understand this? Surely, I have told her this before.

Besides, now it is too late for all of this. I have a detective on my ass who seems to not believe a word that I say. So, there is that.

When she doesn’t speak, I walk over to her and take ahold of her wrist firmly. I force her to look right into my eyes as I cup her cheek and push her face sideways. I want her to know what kind of trouble she is causing me and how angry I am.

“Your father stopped by a few days ago and now there is a detective coming around.” I stop when she starts to struggle and look away before tightening my grasp on her face and turning it towards me again.

“You don’t seem to understand the situation. If push comes to shove, my people will kill anyone who shows up here. That is a fact. So, stop fighting this because you will only make it worse for yourself. I simply can’t let you go, so you might as well get used to living here.”

When I am done, I see a fire in her eyes that challenges me. So, I lean down and kiss her lips hard before I break it off. Turning to leave, I hear her sigh and then she says, “I’m sorry.” In her cute little voice before I turn back around.

Raising my hand to my neck, I rub the fine hairs that itch when I am near her. I don’t know why they do that. Is it because when I touch her, my pants also get stiff? That girl has the most profound effect on me.

I am mad at her right now. But in a heartbeat, that could change, and I might find myself daydreaming about bending her over a chair and making her scream for me to enter her. Yet, I won’t do it. At least not yet.

This time when I turn around, I look in her eyes again and see defeat. At that moment, my heart starts to ache. I know that is not what I want, not really. Because that means I have hurt her.

I don’t mean to break her will, just bend it a little so she will stop trying to get away and learn that living here can be pleasurable. Maybe then she will allow me to spend more time with her comfortably and she will begin to like me as a person, not her captor. After all, eventually over time, my plan is to set her free and let her make her own decision.

Whether she stays here with me or goes home, that will be her choice and I know it must be that way. If she chooses to go home, she will never be able to talk about our species and that will take time. I can’t just trust her because she says that she won’t. Not right now anyways.

Still staring into her beautiful eyes, I fall even farther in love. At that moment, deep down inside I know that if she really wanted to leave now, I could never stop her. You cannot hold a wild animal as ravishing as she is, captive for too long before they wither and die.

When I don’t say anymore and we stand there in silence, I watch as she walks towards me with tears forming in her eyes. Then she asks in almost a whisper, “Is there any way I can move to your bedroom, so I can stay with you? I lose my mind sitting in this room all alone. I simply can’t take it anymore. Please?”

The moment she looks up into my eyes and I see the genuine sadness, I give in whole heartedly and scoop her up in my arms. Forget what I thought about making her beg. I need her right now and I can’t wait another minute. Besides, I might be able to coax a few “Pleases” out of her as I lick her wet folds and start sucking on them.

Of course, as soon as I walk towards the door with my mate in my arms, I hear someone walk up and knock before saying, “My king, we have a problem.”