Page 28 of Beneath the Watching

I’m crying.

Before I could purposely dissociate and end my discomfort, another chime sounded, and a pair of doors slid open. Stefanlifted me into his arms and brought me through an entry way before laying me on a couch. I curled onto my side and faced the back of the couch and stared at the swath of black leather when he touched my arm, trying to get my attention.

“Mabel,” he said, keeping his voice low. There was no excuse for snatching me off the sidewalk, forcing me into a car, locking me in and then dumping me on a couch so I ignored him. The cushions shifted and I felt his leg against me.

If I’d just stayed with Madison, this never would’ve happened.

After a few minutes went by, the leather moved again, and he gave up and walked away. My timing in beginning to stand up for myself, no matter how slight my efforts, may have been off but it was better late than never.

I remained frozen in place, listening to his retreating footsteps and then turned around. The apartment he’d brought me to was large and had a bank of floor to ceiling windows lining one wall. Vertical blinds were pushed to the sides of glass panes even taller than the ones at home.

Everything was immaculate, masculine, and clean but did appear lived in with a television remote tossed onto a recliner, and a stack of magazines on the floor. The penthouse didn’tfeellike Stefan, I noted. The decor lacked the warmth of the living quarters his friends had brought me to when I’d found myself outside in the snow. I had no idea where I was other than somewhere downtown.

Noise sounded from a distant room in the apartment and I laid back down. There was no reason for Stefan to do this to me, I hadn’t gone back to that other place. There was nothing I could think of that justified this behavior. Foreboding filled me with a sense of dread.

“We’re leaving. Now.” Stefan stormed into the living room; a bag slung over his shoulder. “Get up.”

Shakily, I sat up, swinging my legs over the side of the couch. “Where are we going?”

He bent over and grabbed my arms. At this rate, I’d have permanent bruises across my skin. “You can’t stay here,” he told me, not breaking his hold.

My eyes watered. “What are you going to do to me?”

Stefan appeared conflicted for a moment, concern wavering across his face for a split second before it vanished. “It's no longer safe for you here.”

“Why do you care?”

“I don’t,” he said brusquely. “Follow me.”

He’d gone to a lot of trouble, kidnapping me and everything, for someone he didn’tcareabout. Wordlessly, I followed him. There was no choice since he hadn’t let go of me, anyway. My thoughts traveled back to his response to his friend’s arrival at the casino recently. He’d physically reacted as if he’d staked a claim to me. That was a lot of effort for someone who wasn’t concerned.

We ended up in a bedroom and my heart thudded. My gaze traveled to the king-size bed and then to Stefan’s face and his heated stare. My breath caught in my throat as he tugged me against his chest. My hands dangled by my sides until he let go of my shoulder and clasped them, keeping them close to his thighs. His breath was warm against my temple, and I felt him shudder. Warmth tingled through my body over the proximity of our bodies, and the bed right beside us. My thoughts tumbled as I pictured us doing just that, under the blankets.

Stefan’s eyes narrowed, as if he sensed my illicit daydreams. When he spoke, his voice was low and strained. “Don’t let go of me.”

“I won’t,” I replied. He rested his chin on my head, and I let myself be surrounded by him. The heat of his body and the fragrance of sandalwood, cedar, and smoke enveloped me. Iclosed my eyes. As I tucked my head against his shoulder, I felt the world fall away.

At some point, my grip must’ve moved because I’d unconsciously wrapped my arms around Stefan’s waist, holding him tight. It felt as if I’d been sleeping and had just woken up. He pulled away and I heard him take a step back before I opened my eyes to see we were in that place, again. The place where his friends brought me in out of the snow.

“Sit down,” Stefan ordered as I looked around the room. The pile of blankets was still on the couch, so I headed there, taking one as I did what he told me to do. He stood eyeing me for several long seconds before he wiped his hands down his sides and walked over to a desk.

During my last visit, I’d never gotten the chance to really examine what was in the room, so I finally took the time. It appeared to be a living area combined with an office, by the furniture. A low table sat next to the sofa, strewn with copies of magazines such as the National Enquirer and National Geographic. Some wooden drink coasters were stacked beside a pile of pens and an open crossword puzzle book. I had to assume the items weren’t Stefan’s but rather, his two friends’ belongings. He didn’t strike me as a tabloid reader.

As I tried to distract myself with the interesting assortment that lay before me, I did my best not to think about how Stefan had miraculously transported me here. The emotions I was experiencing were overwhelming. I was so used to shoving them down and steeling myself that all I really wanted to do was curl up in the fetal position. Deep down, I knew there was nothing natural or ordinary about what was going on and it momentarily terrified me.

If I was going to be able to handle all this properly, I had to get my act together. I needed to get over myself and face this new situation head on, without my safety net.

Taking a careful assessment of the room I was in; I spotted several doors. Stefan removed his coat after opening one of them to reveal a closet and placed it on a hanger. With his attention elsewhere, I stood up.

“Sit down,” he barked, startling me. I noted the tense line of his shoulders and the stern set of his jaw when he quickly glanced at me.

When I backed up, I felt the couch’s frame hit the back of my legs. Stefan shut the closet door firmly, the sound seeming to echo through the room. Slowly, he turned around to face me.

His eyes locked on mine; the deep chocolate brown shade of his irises almost black as he began stalking across the room. My legs bent and I fell onto the cushions while I watched him come closer and closer, his gaze burning a hole right through me.

I scooted back as he came to a stop. He removed his cufflinks and began rolling up the sleeves of his shirt. “I need you to understand something,” he started, “since you are here, you will do precisely what I tell you.”

“I didn’t ask to come here.”

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