Page 30 of Things Get Dark

“Levi!” he called. “Come down here. I want you to meet Hazel.”

Tiny tip-tapping noises sounded from above, then all around. They began quietly, then grew in volume. Movement in my periphery made me turn and curiously approach the corner of the room. Reaching out with a gentle finger, I lightly touched one of the strings covering the walls. It was thinner than I expected, more like a thread. It stuck to my fingertip, and I pulled away before I could get any more of it on me. Strange. It didn’t leave any residue on my skin.

The noises around me steadily grew louder, more insistent, and a large spider scuttled across the wall in front of me. Holy crap, was that the noise? Hundreds, maybe thousands of spiders?

Footsteps behind me made me jump. I spun on the spot, and my hand smacked against the wall. My palm instantly stuck to the threads. Wriggling furiously, I twisted my arm as I pulled. The sticky bindings held fast and wrapped my hand firmly in the threads. Damn it!

The footsteps drew close, and my head shot up. A young, pale man with dark hair approached me slowly. His bare feet tapped against the floorboards, and that’s when I noticed his clothes. Though they were threadbare in places, and especially rough at the edges of the low neckline and sleeves, they shone like silk. Almost like he wore threads of moonlight draped over his lithe body.

“Seems a little fly is caught in my web…” Levi mused, his head tilted as he eyed me curiously. His voice was deep, rumbling low enough to make my knees weak.

He watched me with dark, unblinking eyes as I tried again to pull my hand free, to no avail. What the hell was this stuff made of?

“That won’t work,” he chided. “You’re not strong enough to break my threads. I make them myself. See?”

He lifted his palms, and I noticed tiny dark marks on the tips of his fingers. He pressed his hands together, rubbing his fingertips against each other for a moment before separating them, revealing five long, thick lines of shining white thread being pulled from the marks.

“What the…” My heart pounded in my throat. How was he doing that?

With swift movements I couldn’t avoid, Levi twirled the threads around my free wrist and yanked it up, sticking it to the wall above my head. He chuckled darkly, taking in the sight of me pinned to the wall by his threads. No. His webs.

“There. Doesn’t she look pretty, Nox?”

I turned my head to the harlequin in question.

He leaned against the door, casually blocking the exit as he played with a spider running over his hands, grinning madly, showing bright white teeth between his black lips. “She looks fucking delicious.”

Trying again, I tugged against the webs with all the strength I could muster. But no matter how hard I pulled, it was no use. The webs wouldn’t budge. I was completely helpless.

My pulse thrummed in my ears so loudly, I couldn’t hear the skittering spiders above me over the sound of my own heart. The lines between excitement, fear, and lust blurred dangerously, and I could barely tell the difference anymore.

Levi’s pale hand circled my throat, not squeezing, just testing the fit of me in his hand. He leaned his face into the crook of my neck and inhaled deeply. His lips brushed my skin, and shivers skittered down my spine. I squeezed my thighs together, andslick desire pooled in my panties. My body felt like it was on high alert. Every touch set my skin alight and made me want more. Whatever these monstrous men were willing to give, I wanted to take.

Nox tutted from the door. “Not so fast. You know we can’t have her here, Levi. Callan would be very upset.”

Levi pulled away from me, scowled in Nox’s direction, then sighed deeply. “Mm, yes. I don’t want to deal with that hound in one of his moods again. And I don’t want him up here, ruining my space again.” He looked me up and down and smiled almost sweetly. “Besides, it won’t be long before she’s back in a similar position.”

Heat pooled in my belly at his promise. The way they both spoke about me like I wasn’t right in front of them—like I wasn’t a real person trapped at their mercy—shouldn’t have turned me on so much. I’d never allow someone to speak to me that way normally. But I liked it when it was them. And I wanted them desperately.

Chapter Four

It had barely takenany effort for Nox and Levi to release me from the webs. They pulled the threads apart easily, so delicately, there must have been a trick to it I’d missed. But as the two men guided me back down to the second floor of the manor, I was more concerned about what awaited me next.

They’d mentioned a Callan, and by the sounds of it, he had a temper.

The sensible part of my brain wondered if this was a bad idea. Maybe I was in over my head with these men and needed to callpumpkin. Unfortunately, the side of my brain running this show was a horny horror fan, and she was loving it.

We walked along a soft carpet—or maybe it was a long rug; it was so hard to tell in the low lighting—down the hallway until we reached a set of double doors. They opened into a large, mostly empty room, except for a few chairs and a sofa near the windows. Then I realised the walls were lined with bookshelves. It was a library. Incredible. I almost wanted to spend the rest of the night ignoring the men and looking through thebooks instead. Though they were probably just replicas for the historical tours.

The men led me through the library and nudged me towards a door in the back of the room with a warm hand on the small of my back. Unable to stifle my curiosity, I turned the iron door handle and peeked inside. Like the rest of the manor, the lighting was minimal, but I could see a large desk in the centre of the room. As the door creaked open farther, I noticed a figure hunched over at the wall, partially hidden by the desk. He looked up as we entered the room, and his bright red eyes seemed to glow in the darkness like two orbs of pure hellfire.

“Well, well. Back so soon?” he snarled, his voice deep and husky. “I thought I wouldn’t see you two until sunrise.”

Nox stepped forward, his hands raised placatingly. “Callan, we’ve brought you—”

“I don’t care what you’ve brought me!” he roared. “Unchain me,NOW!”

The room practically shook with this anger. Holy shit, this guy had issues. Though, I guess I’d be pissed too if my friends left me chained up while a party raged on outside. More than a dick move, really.

---