Page 184 of Volatile Obsessions

I woke with a start,gasping for air as I shot up from the…

Bed?

A massive plush bed no less.

My head protested immediately against the sudden movement, pounding violently to the point I thought it might explode. The back of it felt tight and sore, as though something were keeping my aching skull closed.

Stitches, I presumed, based on the images all coming back to me now.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I willed myself through the onslaught with deep breaths, clutching the sheets around my body for support, my jaw ground to avoid making a sound.

When the agony subsided, I cracked my eyes open once more, slowly, finally noting the night had passed me by. Warm streams of daylight now poured in through the bay window not so far away, bathing the room with its incandescent rays.

I peered around, observing my ornate surroundings. Vintage floral wallpaper, gold-trimmed Victorian furniture, what had to be imported, luxury area rugs. Above the bed hung a chandelier, and in the far corner were two parlor chairs set up like a sitting area with a bookcase in between.

And then there were the doors, both a cream color with simple golden knobs.

Where did they lead? Were they locked? Guarded?

Swinging my legs off the end of the bed in an attempt to investigate, it was then I noticed I sat in nothing but my briefs.

No t-shirt. No pants.

Not even my bloody socks.

What the hell?

Panic took its hold on me as my mind began racing millions of miles per hour.

Why the hell were my clothes off?

I’d not even had a proper minute to think it through when one of the doorknobs jiggled, followed by a lock coming undone.

There went one of my questions answered.

Bracing myself, I rose onto my feet, ready and willing to tackle whoever was on the other side, and run out just like this should I have the opportunity to do so.

But the moment I saw Liza saunter through the threshold, I couldn’t fucking move.

“Good morning, sunshine!” she quipped cheerily, a silver tray balanced on her palm.

She was clad in only a silky white robe, pepping goosebumps all over my skin in alarm as my stomach churned about.

No.

Shutting the door with her bare foot, she sashayed toward me with an equally cheery smile.

Or at least she was aiming for such.

In reality, it was nothing short of creepy and deranged.

“How’d you sleep, baby?” she asked, setting the tray down on the pristine nightstand beside the bed, a lush spread of breakfast items set on its polished surface. “I’m sorry we had to sleep apart. I promise tonight you’ll get to sleep in my bed like the King you are.”

I couldn’t do anything but stare at her, blinking, shocked to my damn core.

Her body was Liza—all five-foot-two of her—but the person within her mind… I didn’t recognize that person at all.

And that’s saying a lot because Liza had always been a little strange—eccentric, if you will.

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