Page 24 of Darkest Sin

Sitting at the kitchen island, I watch as Krista busily prepares a late lunch for Killian’s business meeting this afternoon. I’ve been here for a little over a week, and so far, it’s not as bad as I thought. I think.

Those first few days after Sergiu—which I’ve now learned is his name—visited me in my bedroom, I turned into a recluse. I didn’t know how to feel about it or how to navigate it. My thighs were bruised, and one look from Killian would have told him exactly what he needed to know—that someone had put their hands on me, and I wasn’t ready for that conversation. I believe every word that Sergiu said, that he will return with a vengeance if I breathe even a single word of what happened in my bedroom that morning.

I’ve lived the last week in fear of his return, but as I’ve crept through the mansion, searching around every corner, I’ve seen no sight of him. Krista has mentioned in passing that he’s here quite often, which turned my blood to ice.

In those days when my bruises healed, I told Killian I was unwell, and with his busy schedule, he didn’t bother to question me on it. Instead, he simply ordered Krista to make me soup and check in on me every few hours. I think she knows something went down, and I’m grateful that she hasn’t attempted to bring it up. Hell, I can’t help but wonder if her bringing me breakfast that morning now was a planned move on her part. I’d like to think it was, that she had a part in saving me from the ugliness of Sergiu’s abuse, and because of that, I’ve allowed myself to become closer to her over the past week.

She truly is wonderful, and judging by the way she speaks of Killian and her loyalty toward him, I can’t help but wonder if he truly is a good man beneath all of that darkness. I haven’t dared to tell anyone that I know his name or what he does for a living. If I’m honest with myself, I think I’m too scared to even entertain that conversation. Plus, it’s not information he has yet volunteered to me directly, and until then, I’ll be keeping my mouth shut.

He’s visited me a few times over the past week, and I hate how much I’ve enjoyed those visits. Some were physical, but other times he simply came and sat at the table with me and shared a meal. He watches me a lot. Every time he silently walks into a room, I feel him before I see him. My skin always prickles with goosebumps, and the weight of his delicious stare makes something flutter deep within me.

I think I like him, but it’s so much more than just a physical need for him. I want to please him, want to be the only woman who holds his attention, and perhaps that’s wrong of me, but I can’t seem to turn it off. There’s a raw electricity that pulses between us, and I’m quickly becoming addicted to it. Though I won’t lie, one comment Sergiu made has me concerned.

A DeLorenzo heir.

Is that why I’m here? Does Killian expect me to give him a child? I really hope not. I’m way too young for that shit. I’m not ready to be someone’s mom. When I was out there in the real world, I could barely keep myself alive, let alone someone else.

“Where’d you go?” Krista asks as she searches through her cupboards and pulls out a cheese grater. “You disappeared just now. Is there something on your mind?”

I scoff. “Understatement of the year,” I tell her. “I was claimed at an auction and brought here into this crazy world with a man who equally intrigues and terrifies me, so yeah, I think it’s safe to say that there’s been a lot on my mind.”

Krista offers me a small smile. “I know it’s hard to see right now, but he truly is a generous man, and he certainly is worthy of that intrigue,” she offers, giving me a knowing smile before taking a heavy breath and fixing her stare on me. Her eyes fill with a heaviness that puts me on edge, and I watch her a moment before she finally says what she needs to say. “I’ve been warring with myself whether I should open up about this or not. I don’t know anything about the place you were kept before you came here, the conditions or the horrors you were subjected to, but I do know that you’re going to be okay.”

Krista offers me a small smile, and when my brows furrow, confused by why she’s bringing this up, she goes on. “When I was sixteen, I was stolen right out of my family’s home. Three men broke into my home, and after being forced to watch them murder my father and rape my mother, I was taken.”

I suck in a gasp, my mind jumping right back to the night I was stolen off the sidewalk.

“I was held in a basement for three months before being sold into the sex trade,” Krista continues. “I was young and perky, so the older men flocked toward me, and seeing that I was worth some kind of value, I was sold once again. There was an auction, which I can only assume was somewhat like yours, and by the end of the night, I was claimed by some rich man in Siberia. However, on my journey to what would have been my new home and quite possibly my death, we were intercepted by Killian and his men. He claimed me as his own, much like he did you.”

Hearing her story brings tears to my eyes, and I hastily wipe them away as she hands me a tissue. “Do not feel sorry for me,” she says. “I don’t see myself as a victim, nor should you. While I have had a horrifying journey, all roads led me here, and this is where I’ve found my happiness and was able to rebuild my life.”

I nod and swallow over the lump in my throat. “Whether you wish for me to feel sorry for you or not, I’m still sorry that you had to go through those things,” I tell her. “My story, while terrible, isn’t as gut-wrenching as yours. I didn’t have a family growing up. I was in the foster system and jumped from home to home, but I always wished for a family. I couldn’t imagine how terrible it would have been having to watch your parents being hurt in that way.”

Krista nods and forces a tight smile, though there’s no denying the pain in her eyes. “It was a long time ago.”

My heart aches for her, and not wanting to linger on such a painful time in her life, I move on. “So, you and Killian,” I ask, my mind lingering on the way she said he claimed her in a similar way he did me. “Were you . . . together?”

“Oh, gosh no,” Krista laughs. “Don’t get me wrong, being saved by Killian at such a young age, I thought I was in love with him. For years, all I wanted was to please him and be something to him, but he never once touched me. He only ever looked at me like a little sister, and looking back, I’m grateful that he never laid a hand on me. I was too young and still healing from everything I’d experienced. Instead, he gave me a kitchen, and I fell in love with cooking. I owe my life to him, and I truly hope that one of these days, you’ll be able to see beneath the cruel exterior to the wonderful man that I see.”

I nod, hoping she’s right because the alternative—a life living in fear—simply won’t do.

Once Krista finishes preparing lunch for Killian’s meeting and his associates begin to arrive, I take myself deeper into his home where I can keep myself hidden away until they’re gone. I have no doubt that Sergiu is here, wandering the hallways, and considering how boldly he walked into my bedroom, I have no desire to be in there if he chooses to do it again.

I find the library and try to immerse myself in a book in the furthest corner from the entrance, which also allows me the perfect view of the expansive driveway through the bay windows. I keep my gaze focused on the pages of the book, but after two hours of hiding out in here, I haven’t taken in a single word.

Instead, my attention has been on the bay window, watching and waiting for everyone to leave.

The property is so big with dozens of cars lingering outside. It’s impossible to tell which of those cars belongs to staff or guests, so until I can be sure that the meeting is over, I’ll be staying right here.

Another hour passes when I realize the bay windows open up into a small balcony that overlooks the front of the property, and I put the unread book down before spending a few minutes trying to figure out how to actually open it.

After realizing I’m just an idiot who doesn’t understand a basic locking mechanism, I finally get it open and step out into the sun, pleasantly surprised to find a well-tended garden taking up the majority of the small balcony. Vines creep along the handrail and up the side of the home with flowers blooming and begging for attention. It’s like I’ve stepped out of reality and into a magical garden of beauty, and despite how much I love the rest of Killian’s home, this is easily my favorite part of the estate. However, that incredible pool comes in a close second.

I’ve barely had a second to take in all the beauty of the balcony garden when I hear someone making their way through the library, and the moment I feel his intense gaze on my back, I don’t even bother looking to see who it is.

A strange flutter builds in the pit of my stomach as he steps out onto the balcony and moves in behind me. When his breath hits my skin, my whole body trembles.

“You’ve been hiding up here,” Killian murmurs in that rich Romanian accent that sends burning electricity pulsing through my veins like wildfire. He reaches around me, bracing both hands on the balcony railing and keeping me caged.

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