Page 3 of Beautifully Damned
“He won’t find out,” I promise. “You can hover the whole time and complain. It’ll be fun.”
He grumbles a prayer under his breath. Then: “Five minutes. And if you get me castrated, you’re marrying me because no other woman on the planet will.”
I scrunch my nose at the thought of marrying a man I consider a brother, but I know he’s just joking, and I’m already pulling the door open. “Deal.”
***
When we arrive, it’s pitch dark and half-silent except for the occasional shuffle of hooves or the soft creak of wood in the wind.
Emir’s footsteps crunch behind me. “You said five minutes.”
“We’ve been out here for three,” I hiss back.
“You counted?”
“Of course.”
He huffs something that sounds vaguely likeyou’re impossible,but he keeps following.
The moment I step inside, my chest tightens in anticipation. Will Ace be there? Will he not? The air smells like hay, cold sweat, and damp earth. I run down the row of stalls. The others glance at me sleepily with their ears flicking and tails twitching, but I don’t stop until I find him.
He’s standing, barely, but standing, guarding his injured leg. I blink fast, but the tears still sting as I rush to coddle him.
Ace snorts and turns his head, not nuzzling me like usual.
“Okay. I deserve that.” I reach out, brushing my hand over his neck. “I’m sorry I ran. I didn’t know what to do.”
His body shifts like he wants to walk away, but the leg won’t let him. Sometimes I swear he’s a human in a horse’s body.
“But I came back,” I whisper, trying to defend my case to this horse. I need to get my head checked.
Behind me, Emir hasn't said a word. Which is… weird. Normally, he'd bully me for talking to animals like a bad recasting of Snow White, but I haven’t heard a peep out of him. Maybe he’ll actually listen to my psychotic plan.
“I’m thinking of releasing him,” I say softly. “Into the woods, I mean. We could bring food. I know it sounds stupid, but it’s notlike anyone here cares if he lives or dies. They are going to put him down sooner rather than later. At least out there, he has a chance.”
Still nothing. Huh? Is he ignoring me? I glance sideways to check if he’s okay. But he isn’t there. I turn around fully, the air suddenly colder than it was a second ago. My heart skips.
“Emir?” I call out.Something is really, really wrong. Emir would never leave me here alone.
Heaving footsteps come from the pitch black, and they confirm my fears. My spine stiffens. A figure emerges from the dark. Roman. His eyes find mine before the rest of his huge frame fully steps into the moonlight.
No. No, no, no.
This has to be a nightmare. I must be still curled in bed, sweating, dreaming up monsters with guns and eyes that look through me instead of at me. But I’m not dreaming. My fingers are still tangled in Ace’s mane. The chill of the air is real. And Emir is nowhere to be found.
Roman steps closer. I back up instinctively, only to realize there’s nowhere left to go. My spine hits the barn wall, some splinters digging into my skin through my dress.
His gaze trails over me slowly. Not in that lustful, hungry way I’ve seen from men at my father’s parties—but in the way a predator might look at prey. And I feel like prey right now, sweat soaking through my dress, nerves fraying, and my lips raw from biting them. He leans in just slightly, close enough that I can feel his breath when he finally speaks.
“Little lamb,” he murmurs, “got caught between the wolf’s teeth.”
?Chapter III ?
Roman
“Let me go!”
The shrill scream rips through the night as my men drag the little lamb out of the shadows and into the waiting blacked-out van. She fell right into my trap. Her feet claw at the dirt, desperate to find purchase, sending soil flying. The horses nearby snort nervously from the sudden disturbance.
