Page 54 of Deception

My soul will belong to him for eternity.

21

TOMASZ

The best part about being on the slopes is that it never really gets dark. The moonlight reflects off the white dusting all around us. Red shivers when Nero bounds up to us with snow clinging to the front of his coat in such a way that he trips over himself and almost takes her out, too.

“Calm the fuck down, asshole,” I tell him, ruffling his fur until it’s snow-free. When I stand again, Lucy is watching me intently.

Her hair is a mess of wild waves and rebellious knots from where it’s been blustering around in the mild wind. The thrum of my heart picks up when I focus on the wool hat she’s wearing. It was left in the coat closet along with my mama’s gloves that she’s blowing into while rubbing her hands together.

This is the downside of being here. There’s nothing for miles but wilderness. It’s the perfect hiding place. Although we should’ve stopped off to get her some fitting clothes, I didn’t want to take the risk. After what happened in the Turkish hills, it would be stupid and reckless to be out in public.

It’s just as well that Red fits into my mother’s clothes. They’re oddly a little big on her, and it makes me think back to when Mama wasn’t sick. We used to come here often for weeks on end.

“Do you want to go back inside?” I ask Lucy, shaking off the thoughts that sour the moment. When she shakes her head, I state, “You’re cold.”

“Yes, a little. There’s a lot of snow…” Looking around us, she smiles lightly, and my chest tightens at the pretty sight.

Her cold-kissed lips are only a few shades darker than the tip of her nose. The freckles that normally pepper her face are hidden beneath the burn of the frost on her skin, and her blue eyes are brighter than ever. Almost too vivid, like sparkling glass. The girl looks as beautiful and perfect as a porcelain doll.

“Surely you’ve been in the snow before?”

“Believe it or not, I’ve always been more of a sunshine kind of girl. Skiing was more my sister’s thing.” It’s impossible to miss the twist of her features at the mention of her sister. “While my mother used to take me to the South of France, Laura and our father would go to the Swiss Alps.”

“Is that why you don’t like your sister?” I ask while pulling my scarf off and wrapping it around her hat and over her own until she really looks like a tiny babushka doll that every muscle in my body is pulling tight with the urge to unravel.

“No,” she replies far too quickly, deviating her eyes from mine.

“Liar.”

“Excuse me?” The bark of her voice is almost as sharp as I know her bite to be. “You don’t actually know me. You know nothing about me…not really.”

Wrong. I know a lot more than she thinks. I’ve watched her for long enough. Played enough games with her to know that her skewed sense of loyalty to her family and the role she was given drowns her in guilt.

“Soon enough, you’ll realise that we aren’t all that different. We both have duties and expectations…” I don’t know why I’m telling her any of this. In the end, none of it really matters. “I’ve freed you from yours. I told you, Red, you’re a ghost now.”

“Ghosts aren’t real,” she snaps at me, stalking towards the house and rambling angrily as I follow her. When I pull her back to me, she levels me with a glare. “Fucking my body doesn’t make you an expert on?—”

“Shut up and quit being defensive. You sound like a brat that needs reminding of who you’re talking to.” Grasping her chin, I tug her flush to me. “Fucking doesn’t wipe your slate clean, so think twice about giving me a reason to punish you because I won’t go easy on you.”

Releasing her chin, I grip her hand, holding it in mine for a moment before I lace our fingers together and tug her back towards the trees.

“Where are you taking me?” Red tugs back.

“I told you I was taking you out. You’ve been inside for weeks. It’s time to get out and get fresh air.”

“Of course…you care so much about me.” The bitterness in her voice brings me to a halt.

When I turn to look at her again, she asks, “Why are you doing all of this? I’m still your prisoner. I’m still your enemy. Nothing has changed for you. You are who you have always been.”

“You will always be my prisoner.” I nod at her statement. Not for the reasons she thinks, but because it’s the only way I can keep her safe. Stupidly, that is the only thing that matters with her. “And, no, I will never change. This is who I am, and you should be happy about that because any other sane man would’ve wiped their hands clean of you already.”

“Why don’t you, then?” Tears gleam in her eyes.

I wish I could answer it for myself. The only thing that I can say is “You belong to me. Isn’t that what you said last night?”

Doe eyes widen before she nods. “Yes.”

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