Page 30 of A Twisted Gift

Erik

When I wake, the first thing I notice is the absence of Raina’s body against mine. I’m hugging a pillow instead of her, but the Christmas spices I smelled on her last night still linger in the air.

She’s gone.

Panic swells, my throat tightening with fear, but I rub at it until it subsides. She’s safe, and it’s not like she’d leave.

Would she?

I can’t deny how similar this situation is to the one I just kidnapped her from. She’s still in a large house, hiding just out of view, a secret to the world around her.

Last night, when she was panicking, she said something—from one cage to another.I don’t think she meant to say the words out loud, but they’ve been pricking at my consciousness ever since. The last thing I want her to feel is trapped. If she does, she’ll try to run.

Or she already has.

Throwing my blankets off, I jump out of bed and yank on some clothes. I’m still pulling my shirt over my head as I stumble toward Raina’s room.

Please be here. Please don’t leave me.

When I reach her door, it’s closed. I knock softly, wondering if she slipped away in the middle of the night to get away from me. I never should’ve asked her to stay in my bed. It’s exactly what I told myself I wouldn’t do. But I… I needed her.

“Erik?” Raina calls, her voice muffled by the door.

Slumping into the wall, I close my eyes and let out a silent prayer of thanks. She’s still here. She didn’t try to run.

“Just wanted to make sure you’re all right. I…”

“You can come in.”

Thank fuck.

When I push inside, I find her sitting in the armchair near the window. There’s a look of longing on her face as stares outside, her gaze fixed on her father’s mansion. Maybe it was a mistake to give her a room with a view down the hill.

“You left.” I shouldn’t say it, and I definitely shouldn’t sound hurt, but I do.

“The sunlight woke me up, and I had to pee. And then I…” She lowers her gaze to her lap, her hair falling over her face like a curtain between us.

“What?” I step closer, clenching and unclenching my hands. The regret I felt when I woke up doubles in size.

You never should’ve asked her to stay last night. Never should’ve put her in that position. You can’t force your own desires onto her.

“I know I don’t have to stay in my room,” she says quietly, “but I… I just had this awful feeling. It was weighing down on my chest, and it felt like I couldn’t breathe. Like I was going to be in so much trouble when I was found outside of my room.” With a shiver, she wraps her arms around herself. “I couldn’t get it to stop until I came back in here.”

“W…what? I’ll never lock you in your room.Never,you understand me?”

“I know.” She finally looks at me, and her eyes are shining. “I know you wouldn’t, and I tried telling myself that, but I couldn’t stop the feeling until I was behind the door. It’s like… even though I left Father’s house, he’ll still find me and punish me.”

“He’ll have to go through me to get to you, and I won’t let him lay his hands on you ever again.”

“Do you think he’s angry?” she whispers.

“Yes.”

“Do you think he’ll look for me?”

“I do. Ivan has probably already canceled the check he used to pay for you, and he won’t issue a new one until Charles hands you over.”

Raina winces, and I almost regret being so harsh, but she needs to understand. The men at the auction last night are cruel. Heartless. And with the amount of money she was sold for, Charles won’t stop until he finds her. As far as Ivan goes… well, for him, I’d imagine this is a matter of pride. In his mind, he owns Raina now, and the fact that he doesn’t have her probably has him feeling like a fool.

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