Page 14 of The Villain's Captive (The Villain's Duet 1)

“What is it that you want from me?” My voice quivered. How could it not? This man oozed malice and trouble with a capital T—all of it directed at me.

He reached out, and I flinched, but he merely brushed the back of his hand down the side of my neck—barely touching me. “These should heal easily enough.”

I shuddered, thinking of his hands around my throat, squeezing.

He dropped his arm and took the cello from me. “You have a remarkable talent.”

I pressed my lips together.

“Yet you’re afraid to show it to the world.” His eyes narrowed, as if he stared at a puzzle that needed solving, then stepped back, putting some welcomed distance between us. “It’s quite ironic, don’t you think?”

I stood, hoping that if I came closer to eye-level with him I’d be less intimidated. Turned out, I was wrong. It wasn’t as much his size as it was the way he looked at me that unnerved me—as if I was nothing but prey, and he a predator who craved the hunt.

“I don’t know what to think because I have no idea what’s going on here.”

“Why didn’t you accept my gift?”

“What gift?”

He stretched his arm out, moving the cello to the side, answering my question without saying a word.

“Oh, you mean the cello you left on the stage for me that night? When no one was supposed to be there, yet this gift seemingly appeared from out of nowhere?”

He cocked a brow.

“That would be reckless of me, don’t you think? Taking something that some stranger just randomly left for me.”

He smirked. “I’m no stranger, Charlotte. If you think about it,” his gaze settled on mine, “I’m the only person who knows who you really are.”

Chills coursed through every bone, a trickle of warning traveling down my neck. “You don’t know me.”

“Oh, I think I do.” His eyes darkened—focused. “One is only your true self when you have no other company but your own.”

“What?” I frowned. “That doesn’t even make sense. If I’m in no one else’s company but my own, how could you—” I stopped mid-sentence, the penny dropping like a thousand-pound wrecking ball. Fear forced me to take a step back, needing space, needing air. “You…how…”

I couldn’t get the words out because in my head it sounded so fucking absurd. Surreal, and just…sick.

My chest expanded as I forced myself to take a breath, sorting my thoughts. “You stalked me?”

The expression on his face remained stoic, and he placed the cello in the corner. “I observed you.”

“This is insane. Who the hell are you, and what do you want from me?” I blinked back tears, my survival mode urging me not to show weakness. But I was passing the point of fear and nearing the part where I’d lose my mind because none of this made any sense. This man didn’t make sense. Me being here didn’t make sense. God.

I pulled my fingers through my tangled hair. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. Just let me go.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“Yes, you can. You can open that door and let me walk out of here. Super easy.”

“It’s not that simple anymore.”

I lifted my shoulders. “What do you mean it’s not that simple anymore?”

He wiped his chin with his hand before crossing his arms. “Our situation changed.”

“Our situation? I’m sorry, but there is no fucking our.”

“You have a foul mouth for a woman.”

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