The Darkest Star (Origin 1)

“Nothing is impossible . . . when you’re me.”

“Wow. You’re so special.” Dismay rose as I looked behind me. I was trapped. There was no stairwell behind me, only rooms, and I knew I wasn’t going to get past Luc.

Luc prowled forward, and I panicked. With my heart in my throat, I darted to the left and grabbed a handle. The door opened about an inch, but then slammed shut as if a gale-force wind had pushed it. Fear and anger swirled inside me as I whirled around.

Luc arched a brow. “Not sure where you think you’re going.”

I rushed to the left, a scream of frustration building inside me. “You need to let me leave.”

“But I thought you weren’t leaving until you got what you wanted,” he mocked. “Your phone.”

“You’re not going to help me.” I pressed against the wall, inching sideways toward the stairwell. “You’re—you’re trying to kidnap me.”

“Hmm.” He turned slowly so he was facing me. “I wouldn’t say I’m trying to kidnap you. I would say that I’m actively offering you a place to stay for an undetermined amount of time.”

My jaw hit the floor. “That’s just a really nice way of saying you’re kidnapping me!”

“You say kidnap; I say offering you an all-inclusive vacation.”

“I don’t want an all-inclusive vacation!”

“Well, it’s a break - it - you - buy - it kind of thing.”

“I didn’t break anything,” I seethed, putting a decent amount of distance between us. “If I don’t go home—”

“People will come looking for you.” He rolled his eyes. “Blah. Blah. This sounds like a boring version of Taken, and how do you make—”

Launching off the wall, I took off running. Part of me knew it was pointless, and it was. A rage-filled scream erupted from me as Luc suddenly appeared in front of me.

I didn’t get a chance to turn around. He shot forward and dipped low. I screeched as he scooped me up, tossing me over his shoulder like I was nothing more than a sack of potatoes.

“Put me down!” I shouted, my chest smacking off his back as he turned.

“I really don’t feel like chasing you around, so sorry, that’s not happening.”

“Oh my God.” Completely forgetting what he was, I pounded my fists into his back. “Put me down, you son of a—”

“Ouch.” He bounced, causing my stomach to come down on his shoulder. “Hitting is not nice.”

I guessed he was also going to have a problem with kicking as I swung my knee into his stomach.

“Jesus,” he said, and grunted, clamping his arm over the backs of my legs. “You do realize I could easily pitch you out of a window, right?”

“Then do it,” I spat back, digging my elbow into him. “I’d like to see you try explaining my splattered body on the sidewalk to the authorities.”

Luc snorted. “That sounded really dramatic.”

Fury burned my skin as he prowled down the hall. “My mother—”

“Your mother isn’t going to do anything. You know why?” Luc shifted swiftly, and for a second I thought I was going to slide right off his shoulder. “Because your mother knows better.”

I hit him again. “Let me go, Luc.”

He stopped, and I felt his cheek press into my hip. “If I do, do you promise not to run off?”

My face wrinkled. “Yes.”

“You’re a liar, liar.” The door in front of him opened. “The moment I put you down, you’re going to run. Probably end up hurting yourself.”

Groaning, I jabbed my fist into his lower back and was rewarded with another grunt. “I’m going to hurt you!”

Luc chuckled.

He actually chuckled as he walked into a room.

I swore to God and the Holy Ghost, I was going to ninja kick him in the face.

Luc stopped in the dark room, and I was suddenly sliding down him—down his entire front. The contact was like a brush burn, frying out my nerve endings. The moment my feet hit the floor, I swayed unsteadily as I reached out, finding nothing around me but him. I kept moving until the backs of my thighs hit something soft, and I plopped down.

The overhead light flipped on, and my wild gaze darted around. It was a small windowless room with narrow beds pushed against the wall. It reminded me of a cell. Panic took root in my chest and blossomed.

This isn’t happening.

His expression was as hard and cold as a sheet of ice. “Stay,” Luc ordered, backing up.

Stay? Like a dog?

I sprung up from the narrow bed and darted to the side. Luc’s sigh could’ve rattled the walls as he snagged me with one arm like I was an errant child running amuck in the frozen food section of a grocery store.

Tucking me against his side, he walked me back to the bed and deposited me there. “We can keep doing this all day if you want.” He let go, folding his arms across his chest. “But I really hope you don’t, because I have things to do. I’m kind of a busy guy.”