Page 31 of Deranged and Obsessed Omnibus: Vol 1

The fabric was faded and stretched taut over his broad shoulders, arms, and powerful frame. As he took a step forward, the candlelight from inside my bedroom caused shadows to carve harsh lines across his face. His features were brutal in the way I imagined a warrior’s would’ve been.

He wasn’t handsome in the classical sense, not with the raw power and danger that was clearly etched into every angle of his face and masculine line of his body. But he was still undeniably attractive.

I could barely breathe, so I focused on the way my pulse hammered right below my ear.

Everything in me said to run. To escape. To survive. But I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him, not when I was paralyzed with fear by his presence.

His gaze went to the clothes on the bed, then he slowly turned his eyes back to me. His head cocked to the side, and his dark gaze roamed over me, unblinking, as if he were a predator and didn’t want to miss any little detail of his newfound prey.

His slow and deliberate perusal of me sent terror shiver down my spine.

Because, at that moment, he didn’t look at me like I was merely at his mercy. In his dark and unwavering gaze was clear possession.

I tightened my hold on the knotted part of the towel I grasped in my shock. I squeezed my fingers around the material even more, keeping the fabric snugly against me and using it as a shield.

He was terrifyingly predatory.

His gaze lingered on my body far too long, and when he slowly lifted it to stare into my eyes, I held my breath. All I felt when I stared at him was this chilling emptiness that made my blood run cold.

“Get dressed,” he said with no inflection in his voice. It was void of… everything. When I didn’t immediately do what he said, he stepped into the room and sucked out all the warmth my space heater produced as this icy chill crystallized along everything his gaze could reach. “Get dressed. We need to talk.”

I looked at the clothes—the ones he’d picked for me. I felt this wave of violation that he had gone through my drawers and closet, touched my things… my bra and underwear that were laid out neatly by my leggings and shirt.

“Do it now.” The tone of his voice told me this man had zero patience, and if I didn’t do what he said, he’d let me know how much that pissed him off.

My heart skipped a beat, and my body finally unfroze allowing me to at least do what he said. My hands shook as I reached for the clothes, and the whole time I gathered them up in my arms, I felt his eyes on me like a physical touch.

I knew at that very moment that after today nothing would ever be the same.

Chapter Four

Evelina

With my clothes clutched to my chest, I felt like I’d been standing and staring at him for the longest time.

His gaze hadn’t left me, and his focus was so dark and unyielding, so intense and trained right on me, that it had every instinct in my body screaming to run. But he was between me and my escape, his massive frame filling the entire doorway. He towered over everything in the shadowy light, and I took a shaky breath.

“You’re blocking me from going to the bathroom to change,” I whispered, my voice trembling. When he didn’t move, I gestured toward the bathroom door behind him.

For long seconds, he didn’t move, but then he slowly shook his head and grunted out, “No. You can change right here.”

My heart hammered inside my chest, and I started shaking my head, but I knew it was futile. He’d make me do whatever he wanted. There was no point in arguing or trying to fight this, not if I wanted any chance of making it out alive.

I didn’t need him to say anything other than that unyielding “no” at the beginning of his response for me to understand that the power and control he wielded was absolute. Swallowing hard, I waited just a second to see if he’d change his mind, show mercy, and let me change in private. When he didn’t move, I turned around, my back to him, and forced myself to get dressed in front of him. At least, I could hide beneath the towel as I did it.

I looked at the window, but the damn thing was painted shut—something I’d been meaning to fix. I was now cursing myselffor not doing it sooner because I couldn’t even escape out of it if I tried.

Closing my eyes, I bent forward to step into my panties, struggling to keep the towel up by pressing it between my upper arms and my sides when it came undone. As I slid my underwear up my legs, I lost my grip, and the towel dropped to the floor. But I couldn’t catch it and pull my panties up to cover my ass at the same time.

The cool air prickled over my skin and caused me to shiver even though I could feel his gaze burning right through me. He was undeniably taking every inch of my exposed body in with his very predatory stare.

I’d never gotten dressed so quickly in my life, and when I only had my shirt left to put on, I glanced over my shoulder. I wasn’t surprised to see his eyes were pinned on me. I’d felt him watching me the whole time, but seeing his laser-like focus on me made me even more uneasy.

His expression was one of raw, undisguised hunger, and that terrified the hell out of me. If his clothes were anything to go by, he was an escaped convict. How long had it been since he’d been with—or even seen—a woman?

I forced myself to keep dressing, and once my shirt was on, I turned around to face him, still wanting to cover myself more from his attention.

Fear coiled in every part of my body, and he hadn’t even hurt me—at least, not yet.

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