Page 14 of Take Me

I stare down into the golden-rimmed eyes of a red teddy. The fox Nikolai gave me to comfort me whenever I feel lonely. The numbness draws back with a startling jerk, baring the raw emotions I blissfully ignored. My chest heaves under the weight, and tears well in my tired eyes.

The heavy door slides closed with a shrieky noise and makes a clank to cement the finality of my captivity.

Darkness descends upon me as the lights go out.

Left are only the hollow echoes of my sobs and the rattle of chains as I hug the teddy so hard it hurts and remember Nikolai’s last words. A promise now squashed by these barren walls.

***

I glanced around the luxurious bar, feeling a bit self-conscious at the sight of the upscale clientele. Men in fitted suits, women in pretty dresses, and fancy cocktails being handed over the bar without thoughts about the growing bills. It was a scene that had always drawn me in. One teeming with control and power. And one I definitely didn’t fit into. My soda alone had cost almost as much as my dinner. But despite my weeping credit card and my fidgety self-consciousness, I ventured into places like this every now and then in search of something. Something I could never quite seem to find. This night was no different, yet here I was, feeling close to that something.

Taking a sip of my Coke, I turned my head as someone scooted onto the barstool beside me. I nearly choked on the soda as I came face to face with a bright set of blue eyes set in a strong face, staring straight at me. No, into me. Their directness was intimidating, yet the warm smile shimmering in them was disarming.

“Can I buy you another one of those?” he asked, nodding at my half-full glass as he pressed his palms to his thighs and turned on the stool to face me directly.

Setting my glass down, I swallowed the soda in my mouth a bit too hard. “Sure.”

Taking my glass, he smelled the contents. “No alcohol, huh?”

“Hiking with a hangover is no fun,” I said, tilting my chin a bit downward as a shy yet sort of heated sensation washed over me.

Lifting two fingers, he gestured to the bartender and pointed at my glass. The short reprieve from his heady attention allowed me a moment to collect myself, but the heady sensation returned the moment he locked eyes with me again.

“Hiking? Let me take a guess here. The Carpathians? You’ve left the flat fields of Denmark and come here in search of some mountains.”

“How did you know?” I asked with half a smile, not quite knowing whether to be intimidated or impressed by his astute observation.

He huffed a laugh that had the faint lines around his eyes deepening. “Your accent is as flat as your country.”

I just watched him for a moment. The almost boyish smile in his eyes. The lines on his forehead. The short stubble peppered along his strong jaw and the white streaks at his temples.

Christ, he had to be at least fifteen years older than me. I had just celebrated my twenty-fifth birthday last week, andhe had to be at least forty. Mature and confident. And rich by the looks of his perfectly fitted suit and the massive watch on his right hand. He was a world away from me in every sense of the word. Generationally, geographically—judging from his Russian accent—and not least in terms of wealth and authority. I had just started my first job in a new city after having finished my studies last year, and I still felt green and uncertain in everything I did.

But despite the glaring contrasts, there I was, hopelessly attracted to this man I had only known for a few minutes, feeling some strange pull I couldn’t put my finger on.

Maybe it was the warm smile in his eyes and those crinkles at the corners?

No, those weren’t there when I first saw him and almost choked on my soda. It had to be the directness of those eyes. The way he held himself, commanding the very air around him without even trying.

“What is your name?” he asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

“Julie.”

“Julie,” he repeated, tasting the word. “Pretty name.”

A shiver skittered up my arm as he reached for a pendant on my bracelet and his fingers grazed my skin.

“Is this your favorite animal?” he asked, toying with the small fox pendant—my favorite on the bracelet.

Biting my lower lip, I nodded.

“The little fox Julie is going into the woods,” he said, watching the silverfox with two golden stones as eyes. “All alone?” He directed his gaze back to me, still toying with the pendant.

I nodded, hoping he was asking what I thought he was.

“No boyfriend to keep you company?”

A bolt of anticipation had me shifting on the stool, and I gave a small shake of my head as I wetted my lips. “All alone,” I confirmed.

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