Him.
Days ago
I’m staring at a table full of copious amounts of food that would make anyone’s mouth water. Fruit, fresh waffles, scones, fried eggs and bacon, everything you could ever wish for, and coffee that makes your head spin.
If I wasn’t a captive here in this freaking House, I’d almost say it was luxurious. My growling stomach is begging me to take a bite. But whenever I try to pick up my fork, my whole body shakes.
Because in front of me are two men. Tobias and Soren.
The leader of this house, Eli, hasn’t shown his face in days.
I don’t know why, but I don’t care either. It’s one less problem to deal with.
But it’s still not enough to stop the fear from encroaching on my heart.
Because one of those two men cannot keep his eyes off me. Not even while he eats.
Soren.
With one hand, he grabs a piece of bacon and shoves it into his mouth whole, chewing on it like only a beast would. Then he picks up his fried egg with his fork and eats it whole, no cutting involved. Eating is the wrong word. He devours.
But it isn’t his etiquette and dining skills that have me completely frozen to my seat.
No, it’s the way he looks at me and me alone.
Like I’m the sole object of his desire … or like he wants to murder me in his sleep.
It could go either way with a buff-looking man like him.
His eyes are stone-cold, pristine blue, and deadly. Like he could pierce my heart and split me in half with just one hand without breaking a sweat.
He pauses to lick his lip, all while keeping his eyes homed in on me, and it makes sweat drops roll down my back. Then he picks up his fork and stabs a couple of grapes, shoving them into his mouth.
To say that I’m scared is an understatement, but I don’t know if it’s because it looks like he wants to puncture my heart with that fork he just licked … or because he wants to lick me.
I shiver in place and avert my eyes, staring at the food instead, but when I pick something up and put it on my plate, I come eye to eye with the man who won’t stop staring at me, and it’s freaking me out.
What is his problem?
“What do you want from me?” I blurt out.
When I realize I said it out loud, I slap my hand in front of my mouth, but it’s already too late.
Tobias glares at me, placing his fork back down on his plate, while Soren stops chewing entirely and puts his food down.
When he swallows, I do too.
Tobias narrows his eyes, but all I can focus on is Soren, and he notices too, leaning over to check out Soren’s gaze as though he didn’t know the guy was staring at me all this time.
Then a dirty smile appears on Tobias’s face, and he clears his throat. “It’s not nice to stare, Soren.”
All he does is grumble, but the sound sends heat waves up and down my body … and between my legs.
And without saying a word, without even admitting that he’s doing this on purpose, he picks up an apple and leans back in his chair to take a huge bite … all while staring at me with hunger in his eyes until I lose my mind.
This food will not satiate him, and it isn’t here to feed any of us.
It’s here to intimidate me. To remind me of my place and why I’m really here.
To confess to a crime I didn’t commit.
To submit … to someone like him.
Present
Now I remember why I can’t stop feeling all hot and bothered when he looks at me the way he does now. Because he’s not interested in my words.
That same hunger still shows in his eyes.
And it’s the same look he gave me when I was curled up against him the night we slept.
“What?” he growls.
I swallow down the lump in my throat. I can’t say it out loud. I simply can’t. “N-nothing.”
His eyes narrow, and then he quickly turns around and continues walking, expecting me to follow.
But it’s hard when the adrenaline rushes into my veins again. Because there is another option other than escaping. If I can’t use my strength … I can use seduction.
I know it’s wrong, but what other choice do I have right now?
Wherever I’m being taken could be worse than the house.
It never crossed my mind, but seducing him to let me go might be an option even though I have almost zero experience with it. But something about this man tells me he doesn’t either, and that could be my saving grace.
Only one way to find out.
Chapter 12
Soren
My muscles are beginning to hurt from all this walking, but I can’t stop. Not until I’ve brought her to the place she belongs. But we’ll have to take another break soon because not just our bodies are getting tired. We’ve been walking for hours without much sleep.