Page 36 of Hollow House
Floorboards creaking beneath someone’s feet. I turned around, sure I would find Damon, but no one was there. My body refused to move for a few seconds until I found my courage again. I twisted back to the wall but felt a small chill down the right side of my body.
I let my head turn slightly and spotted nothing but a crooked frame.
I squinted, spotting a woman in the photo and instantly recognizing her: the person I had idolized for years. She owned the largest magazine in New York City. How could I not recognize her?
I pulled the tiny frame off the wall for a better look, to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me.
“I had a feeling I would find you here, love,” Damon crooned.
I turned, dropping the photo in my hands, completely startled. Stunned wasn’t even the best way to describe how I felt. Overwhelmed, in denial, perplexed…those all came close, but it still wasn’t enough.
I shook my head as my heart settled from the scare the second my eyes landed on him.
There was nothing to be afraid of with him. This was his house. No one would be allowed to harm me, and there likely weren’t any actual threats out there, just a combination of exhaustion and being tipsy that kept my mind active and overthinking every little sound.
“How did you know?” I asked, trying to focus on something else.
“A dear friend mentioned they saw you heading in this direction,” he answered.
The waiter.
It had to be—who else would have even noticed me? Maybe others were watching closer than I thought.
“Have you finished with whatever called you off?” I asked.
“I have,” he answered with a slight nod.
My hands drifted behind my back, clasped together. I glanced to him with hooded eyes, imagining every way we could make use of this office.
He let out a chuckle that warmed me.
“Patience, love,” he answered. “I have one last place I want to show you before the night ends,” he said, holding out his hand.
Chapter 20
Each timeI thought I had seen the entirety of the house, a new hallway appeared, a labyrinth rather than a mansion. Damon gave my hand a firm squeeze as we turned down the new one. He opened one of the doors and stepped aside to let me in first.
A throne sat in the middle of the room, and I froze in the doorway, barely able to believe my eyes. If I hadn’t encountered far stranger all night, I would’ve surely believed myself drugged.
Damon nudged me forward, his massive frame filling the doorway behind me.
“What is this?” I asked, turning into him, my hands landing on his chest.
“For you,” is all he said.
I turned my head to glance back at the throne, but before I could take it in, to see if I’d imagined it, his hand caught my chin and turned me back.
The way he gripped my face was sure to leave bruises, a thought that should terrify me, but I found I wasn’t scared.
Not with him.
This house of desires and nightmares had my heart racing, but the second he was by my side, I felt oddly safe.
Yup, I was truly going mad.
I tried to extricate myself from his grip, curiosity burning hot in my chest. This time, he grabbed my hips and flipped me around without warning, pressing me back to him.
My eyes took in the throne in its entirety, sitting in the center of an otherwise-empty room. The black and gold matched most of the décor throughout the mansion.
