Page 28 of The Castle (Endgame 3)
“Nothing,” I say too fast.
He glances back, disbelieving. “You look terrified, Avery.”
It’s telling that he calls me Avery now. Not little virgin. He isn’t playing with me. I’m not playing either, but I can’t tell him. He wouldn’t believe me. Or worse, he would. I can’t stand the thought of him thinking I’m crazy. And it would be even worse for him to know I doubt him.
He might be my enemy, but by God, if he’s my hero, he doesn’t deserve my doubt.
“I had a bad dream,” I say, which isn’t a complete lie.
It’s just that I’m living my nightmare.
His blunt fingers brush the hair from my face. He examines my eyes with an intensity that makes me blush. It’s like he can see all my secrets, especially the ones I don’t want to share. “I know you’re keeping things from me,” he murmurs. “And maybe you’re allowed your secrets. God knows I have my own.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “I do trust you.”
Which isn’t a complete truth. I trust him more than I trust myself.
He cocks his head. “You would tell me if you were in danger.”
Without meaning to, I take a step back. “Yes.”
Anger clouds his gaze. “Goddamn it, little virgin. Do I need to find an even smaller cage to keep you in? How tight do I have to lock you up to know that you’re safe?”
I shiver beneath his regard. “Maybe we could stay at the Den.”
No voices spoke to me there.
He shakes his head. “That’s Damon’s place.”
My eyebrows rise. “You don’t trust him? I thought you were friends.”
“I don’t trust anyone when it comes to your safety.”
“Even West?” The ex-military man looks extremely dangerous, but he’s always been respectful. Even though there are a huge number of men guarding the estate, it’s only West who interacts with me. I don’t think that’s a coincidence.
“I don’t need to trust West. I pay him enough that I don’t have to.”
A small laugh filters through my fear. “Only you would say that.”
“And he knows I would kill him if anything happened to you.”
“Did you find him?” I ask, and he knows who I mean.
“Not yet, but we will.” The same answer, a little less believable each time he gives it. I know how much power Gabriel wields, both physically and financially. How much influence he has in this city. But there are limits to everything. What if it’s just not enough?
I look away, focusing on the footboard of the bed. Penny has been staying in this guest room since her arrival. I’ve spent hours each day in this room, but I only now notice the ivy engraved into the wood. It climbs the bed, spiraling upward, almost stifling in its thickness.
“Promise me something,” I whisper.
“What?”
“That if he finds a way to catch me, you’ll let me go.”
The sudden intake of breath is my only warning. He hauls me into his arms, forcing my jaw up, meeting my gaze with blazing fury. “What the fuck did you say to me?”
It’s hard to speak with his grip clamping my face, but this is too important. “You said yourself that most people would rather be dead.”
And if I’m at the bottom of a pool, I want to stay there. Not end up a broken shell in Gabriel’s guest room. He would be racked with guilt. I’ve already seen what he does to himself about Hannah. This would be worse.
A lifetime of fighting has made him into a warrior.
But this…this could break him.
He bends his head—to kiss me, I think. Until I feel his teeth sink into my lip. The pain makes me cry out. A burst of copper spreads over my tongue. He licks to soothe me.
“There is no place he could take you that I wouldn’t follow, little virgin. I will climb into the depths of hell to get you back. That’s my promise.”Chapter FifteenI walk away from Gabriel, which I know is a mistake. Turning your back on a predator. Leaving yourself vulnerable. And even with that knowledge, it’s a surprise to feel Gabriel’s hand on the back of my neck.
Only a touch. There aren’t any teeth, at least not literally.
Still, I flinch at the bite.
I guess that’s what makes me prey. That and the fact that I follow where he directs me, the subtle command guiding me down the hall and onto the balcony, where the chess set is reflecting moonlight, both the light and dark sides.
“Shall we play?” he asks, but it doesn’t sound like a question.
It also doesn’t sound like he’s talking about chess.
Frequently our games devolve into sex. Or maybe devolve isn’t the right word, since it’s part of the same thing. Chess is like foreplay for us, a give-and-take, a mental seduction that turns both of us on.
I should probably be worried that we do the equivalent of slaughtering each other, if only symbolically. Remembering my hands on the wide stone railing, Gabriel’s harsh breath behind me, I know I’m too far gone to care.
