Page 26 of Once Upon a Fable

A compass tumbled after it, rolling under the bed.

I flinched and backed up with her balanced in my arms. My speed jostled her. I froze, searching her face to see if her eyes would open.

She didn’t wake.

Perhaps she wouldn’t. Maybe I’d done irreparable damage, and I wouldn’t get my answers, after all.

Fear filled me as I stalked from the bedroom with the stranger in my arms, leaving her knife that had already hurt me on the carpet.

It wasn’t fear for what I’d done to her but fear of what would happen to me.

What if others came?

I had weapons and was skilled at defending my home, but if they came in a mob? If they arrived for war, my carefully crafted existence would be over.

I glowered at her as I descended the staircase, her weight hardly noticeable in my arms.

How dare you.

How fucking dare you ruin my life.

I hated her.

I downright despised her.

My cock twitched as I reached the foyer, the heavy length hitting my thighs as I headed toward the back of the house and the hidden door beneath the staff staircase. My balls throbbed as a whiff of her scent invaded my nose. She smelled like leaves and earth. A mustycombination that laced the air in the valley, thanks to living in a jungle of ivy and tree branches.

My skin burned where she rested against my chest.

My body tightened, eager to take everything from her.

Iwantedher.

I didn’t like her. I didn’t know her. I still planned on killing her, butfuck,the longer I held her, the worse those urges became. The hotter and fiercer my need grew.

I trembled and gritted my teeth, cringing at her closeness.

Get away from her.

Rushing to open the cellar door, I almost dropped her as I pulled it wide. She moaned a little as I tightened my hold.

Christ, who would’ve thought a quiet moan would almost buckle my knees?

My mouth watered. My mind turned black. My cock thickened to excruciating levels.

Tightening my hold again, wishing I could squeeze the life out of her and the disgusting lust out of me, I climbed down another set of stairs. Unlike above ground, these steps were entirely entombed in the dark.

My blood continued to hum with desire as I climbed down, lower and lower. Sixteen steps to the bottom. Fourteen steps to the cell. Ten steps in either direction marked the size of the square dungeon.

A dungeon that lurked beneath a house full of finery, slowly festering with filth and pain.

The air turned stale, the temperature shifting from muggy warmth to dank coldness. My chest burned where I touched her, but my back welcomed the chilly dampness. It helped soothe the chaos inside me. The bloodlust and the violence.

I felt as if I had a fever. I was sick, and I was shaking. I wish she’d never fucking come here.

Striding deeper into the chilly dungeon, I didn’t care about the dark. This place was more familiar to me than any place in the valley.

I didn’t pause to turn on the lights. I’d memorized every divot and imperfection. I rushed to drop her so I could run.