Page 379 of Dangerous as Sin

We stopped in front of another door. “Wait here,” he said to the guard as he crossed the threshold, shutting the door behind us. Lifting my head as much as I could, I took in the space. Plush carpet, a sitting area with a giant fireplace, and a four-poster, equally giant bed.

And as he threw me on the bed, I couldn’t keep my mind from racing through the worst possible scenarios as to what his intentions were, but I did my best to remain unaffected, making eye contact and refusing to show fear, though I was sure he could scent it.

“A bath has been drawn for you.” He pointed at a door on the far end of the bedroom. “Clean up.”

“Um, I can’t take my clothes off with my hands tied behind my back. I’m not fucking magical. I’m not a fucking angel or a demon who could just think her clothes off.”

He took out his dagger—the one I’d temporarily stolen—then walked around the bed until he was at my back. I tried to scurry away, but he put a heavy hand on my shoulder. “Don’t move.”

I froze as I felt him grip my bound wrists in his hand before he sliced through the leather.

“Only angels can think their clothes off.” And then he walked out, locking the door from the outside.

I was a fucking prisoner.

It took me a while to move from where he’d left me, but eventually I made my way to the bathroom, and took the best bath of my life—or at least it felt that way, considering how filthy I felt.

Though a good chunk of my sense of cleanliness went away when I had no choice but to put my dirty clothes back on, since the demon had allowed me to bathe but hadn’t provided me with clean clothing.

Exhausted, I melted into the mattress on the bed. My eyes grew heavy within seconds, and I was out.

Startled awake by the sound of a lock turning, followed by the door cracking open, I sat up in bed, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. However long my nap was, it left me more tired than not.

The demon walked in, carrying what looked like clothes in one hand and a pair of beautiful boots in the other. After placing them all on a large wooden chair next to the bed, he turned to me, with eyes dark and hungry.

Fear gripped my chest, and I scooted away from him until my back hit the headboard. “What do you want?” I tried hard to sound angry, but my anxiety was getting the best of me, making my voice quiver.

“Like I said before, not in your control.” His knee hit the mattress, and I wanted to scream.

“Answer me, asshole,” I hissed. “What do you plan to do with me?”

He reached the top beam of the bed’s canopy with both hands, a pose that only made him look bigger—and hotter, but that was beside the point. “You sure ask a lot of questions for a captive.”

“I refuse to just lie here and let you and your evil minions use and abuse me.” The last word was but a squeak, betraying my level of fear. I was tired, hungry, homesick, and horrified by the situation I found myself in. No matter how hard I tried to be stoic and brave, the fear always made its presence known.

And as I watched him peruse at me with eyes filled with a world of intentions I couldn’t decipher, my fear turned into absolute horror.

He wanted something, and I had a good idea of what that something was.

“Wouldn’t you rather not know what I’m doing with you?” He sneered. “You may survive better if you don’t. No jitters of anticipation. Sometimes, it’s better to just stay in the dark.”

What a piece of evil shit. Rage burned in my blood, snuffing out the fear. I wanted to tell him off. I wanted to fight him, or better yet, kill him. Tipping my chin up, I looked at him with as much disdain as I could muster. “Maybe for you. I come from a place where the dark doesn’t exist, you fucker.”

He chuckled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. “Well,” he said, bringing down his arms. I watched as he unbuttoned his jacket. “I’ve always found it strange that your realm has no night. How would you ever appreciate the light if you’ve never tasted darkness?”

At that, I remained quiet. Those I grew up with seemed happy, but their happiness often felt disingenuous. Including mine. Like we went about our day, happy-go-lucky because that’s how we were supposed to be. Sure, bad things happened in our world, but I’d never been privy to them. Maybe that was a consequence of living in the castle and being sheltered along with Emmie.

We stared at each other, his penetrating gaze unnerving me. He knew his words had pierced me.

Unwilling to feel any more vulnerable, I dropped my eyes to the mattress.

“Take off your clothes.”

My head snapped back up so fast it made my neck hurt. “What?”

“You heard me.”

The growl I let out was loud enough to be heard all over this mansion. “First, Mr., what makes you think I would ever get undressed in front of you? Who do you think you are? And second, if you dare lay a finger on me, you will live to regret it, asshole.”

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