Page 18 of Lily: Captive to the Dark

Lily closed her eyes and a shiver had them reopening. Was it from the cool air or her imagining what the night would hold? I knew she didn’t want to verbally admit her true feelings. She was trying to view me as the enemy now — as if I had been the one who ripped her off the street and sold her. But I was determined to pull out her need for me, no matter what.

“Do you give your word you’re truthfully going to let me walk away?”

“Yes.”

The tension left her body and I loosened my arms as she found her footing. “Fine. One night. That’s it. I’m warning you now, you’re not going to change my mind. We can talk all night and try to figure out this mess, but it’s a waste of time. You should just go home. Things can’t go back to the way they were between us.”

Oh, they wouldn’t. They’d be better. We’d be here, away from my family and the danger that surrounded them. There was nothing that could force my hand in taking her back to that hell. I’d never broken my word before, but tonight I would. Desperate times came with desperate measures. Lily would be mine again. She’d come to overlook our past and focus on our future.

“I love you and I’m not going anywhere.” I cupped her face, giving her one last kiss. She remained quiet as I eased us around the side and led her quickly into the building. “No talking until we get to my place. If you speak to anyone, I’ll shoot them. You know I’m not lying. If you say I’m going to lose you, what’s left for me? Don’t do something stupid.”

“It was you I saw earlier?”

“Yes. I told you, I’ve been here all along. When you stand at your window crying, I feel it. When you sleep, I’m there when you wake from the nightmares. You didn’t have those when you were in my arms, did you?”

She kept her head down as I pushed the button to the elevator. “You didn’t, because you felt safe with me. I can give you that back. All you have to do is embrace this new chance we have.”

The sound of the elevator arriving had her dragging her feet as I tried to push her forward.

“I don’t know if I can do this.”

My hand tightened and I gave a tug that sent her stumbling my way. “You have no choice anymore. It’s time you remember your place.”

Chapter 8

Lily

More times than I could remember, I’d lie in my bed and fantasize about Zain rushing in and sweeping me away. We’d go to some exotic island and live out the rest of our days making love under the stars. Nothing else would exist but us.

In reality, a life like that could never happen. His family would come looking for him. Slade, for me. The two wouldn’t stop until they hunted us down. When they did, the repercussions would be unthinkable. And even if we could bypass that, even if somehow my Master was able to put an end to the evil tied to him, we still had my brother to deal with. Sure, I could do the unthinkable and disown him, but I loved Slade. He’d done more for me out of love and devotion than anyone ever had. He raised me.

For me and Zain to work, Slade would have to give his blessing and allow us to be together. I knew my brother. There was no way in hell he’d even allow Zain to continue to breathe air if he knew who he was, let alone become something as close as a boyfriend or husband. It would never work. The best I could do was make my Master hate me. Make him change his mind and release me. That way he could move on with his life.

Why did that break my heart? Because I loved him more than what was comprehensible. A person shouldn't be allowed to feel so much emotion for another. It had the capability to destroy. To make one dead inside. Love was nothing more than a gun and Zain was the trigger. Bang, bang, baby, blow me away.

Even now, as I stared at him from across the elevator, I could feel that all too familiar feeling of home. Nostalgia. It had sure as fuck done its job of convincing me how great our lives had been. What a crock of shit. We’d spent our days in a constant state of anxiety and the nights disappearing from it. That was, unless the cries dragged me from our room, right into the hands of a broken or dying slave.

“Zain.”

His eyes flickered before narrowing, making my pulse jump.

“Try again, slave.”

All I could do was shake my head. If I called him Master, I would be accepting he owned me. He couldn’t believe that, regardless of what I knew.

“This really isn’t necessary. Talking isn’t going to accomplish anything.”

He stayed quiet until the doors opened. At the wave of his hand, I eased into the entrance, just outside of his door. It didn’t look much different than my own. A mirror stood off to the side, a table underneath. Flower arrangements rested on other surfaces and pictures randomly hung on the surrounding space.

“You weren’t one for flashing money. Why the penthouse?”

“Let me show you.” Pressure pushed against the small of my back and I trembled from the mix of fear and how close he was. Those hands, they’d shown me both pleasure and the most delicious pain imaginable. I’d spent hours kissing his fingers — my silent appreciation for the power he could wield over me.

The door unlocked and he pushed it open, locking it behind us. Heaviness settled in my legs the deeper we walked into his dark home. When we stopped at the large glass windows, I could clearly see Slade rummaging through my room.

“I was never truly away from you. Let that sink in for just a moment. Although there was only a street separating us, it could have been a million miles away for all the longing I felt while watching what I couldn’t have.”

The brush of his finger down my neck only had me shaking even more. My lids lowered and I could feel my lips part. All I wanted to do was turn and face him. To sink to my knees and give myself to him completely. Oh, what a beautiful torturous dream that would be.

---