Page 207 of Everdoll

He took a measured, confident step forward. He’d really gotten into his role, yet I felt like laughing inside. I couldn’t take him seriously.

When he finally closed the distance between us, I stopped holding myself back, and my urge to laugh vanished.

Looking down at me, he was nothing like Remi I knew. He was nothing like the Raymond who had gently stroked my hair just hours ago. He was every bit the cold, unyielding commander, capable of crushing me like a bug without a second thought. And yet, apparently, I had become the center of his unpredictable obsession.

Little Mina would love that game.

“You were looking for me? But why? I didn’t do anything wrong.”

His fingers hooked under my chin, tilting my head up roughly.

“Everything about you is wrong, miss,” he purred. “Your teammates are dead, and you’re the only witness. What should I do with you?”

The heat of his breath retreated as he stepped back. He began to pace around my chair, circling me in loops as if trying to hypnotize me.

“There must be some mistake…” I muttered. Back when we were kids, improvising scenarios like this was second nature, but right now, I felt like I had lost every ounce of imagination I used to have.

“Don’t you have a superior? I want to speak to someone higher up.”

He stopped in his tracks.

With a movement so sharp it made my heart leap into my throat, he jerked the chair around to face me. He slammed one hand onto the armrest, leaning in until his face was inches from mine, and tangled his cold fingers into my hair, yanking my head back.

“Someone higher?” His voice was eerily calm, at odds with the fury simmering beneath the surface. “You sit bound in my chair, in my grip, and you dare demand another man?”

“I…” His fingers trailed from my hair toward my ears. A heartbeat later, his lips were there. My face scrunched when he bit my ear.

“Having that damn lover of yours out was bad enough. The thought of him touching you, holding you, taking what belongs to me has kept me awake for four goddamn years… and now, you ask for someone else instead of me?”

“What lover?” Heat at my ear clouded my mind, but my eyes flew wide at the possibility that struck me.

“Remi?”

The moment I said the nickname, he drew back.

“Yes. Remi.” he intoned. “I wonder where he is now? Maybe he got killed himself trying to protect you. What a romantic man.”

“No! Please tell me he didn’t.”

“Poor woman.” He tilted his head, grinning. “Would you grieve that much? Would you wail over his death and wear black for days? And after that, Mina Olind? Wouldn’t you find yourself another prey?”

“I wouldn’t! I’m loyal to Remi. He’s my everything.”

Now his eyes were too dark to be an act. He couldn’t be jealous of himself, could he?

“Loyalty? You’ll love him only as long as he loves you. As long as he pleases you. Otherwise you’ll find someone else.”

“Nonsense.” I whispered. “You don’t even know me. I can’t live without Remi.”

When I saw how much my sentence strained his features, I smirked.

“Oh, I know you… I know your little games very well.”

“There are no games. I’m sincere with him.”

He clicked his tongue in disapproval. “What’s so special about him, I wonder?”

“He’s gentle.” I replied without hesitation. “Always listens to me, always there for me. He lives for me. He knows everything about me. He remembers even the stupid details and lives just to please me. He knows my sensitive spots and always fucks me as if I were his goddess—”