AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I did as he asked, not wanting to rock the boat now that I understood the chokehold he had me in. I slung my things into the back of the car he had summoned for us, then I slid into the backseat and pressed myself as close to my door as I could. It irritated me that he chose to sit right in the middle of the god damn seat. He sat so closely to me that I felt his body heat pulsing against my thigh. I squeezed myself as tightly into that door as I could. If I’d had the option, I would have become one with the damn thing.
And after driving for what felt like four fucking hours, the driver pulled us into the driveway of a shockingly unassuming cottage in the middle of Italian vineyard-land.
“Come. I’ll show you to your room,” he said as he pushed himself out of the car.
I continued to stay silent as I gathered my things from the trunk. I looked around to see if there were any neighbors I could spot and signal to if I needed help, but there was nothing. Just rolling hills of crisp grapes that had yet to be harvested. The smell of the air was decadent; heavy with the sweetened sugar that would be turned into delectable wines that they served in town. As the morning sun rose above the cottage, I closed my eyes for just a moment. I allowed myself a split second to enjoy the calm and the peace that came with my prison.
Then, I relegated myself to following Mr. Drake inside.
“Here’s where I’ll be sleeping,” he said as he motioned to the first door we came to once I stepped inside, “and down that small hallway is your bedroom and bathroom. The two aren’t connected, but I promise I won’t peek around the corner too much.”
I furrowed my brow. “This is the place you rented for us?”
He walked into the kitchen. “This is the place I own.”
That shocked me even more. “You willingly bought this place?”
“Is it not to your liking?”
I gazed around at the soft yellow walls and the warm, red-stained wood beams of the vaulted cottage ceilings. There were trinkets that adorned matching wooden shelves and the plush brown carpet beneath my feet somehow managed to bring everything together. It was cozy and inviting. Worlds away from the kind of place I imagined Mr. Drake owning.
But honestly? I simply thanked my stars that we weren’t sleeping in the same room together.
“Are we going to eat lunch anytime soon?” I asked as I made my way toward the hallway he had pointed out.
“In a couple of hours, sure. But it isn’t lunch time yet.”
“Well, what about breakfast?”
He chuckled. “Getting hungry again, I assume?”
I shrugged as I eased down the hallway. “Takes a lot of calories to keep up these curves.”
“After you drop off your things, I have one more room to show you. You’ll need to know where it is since you’ll be meeting me down there around eight tonight.”
I tossed my stuff into the bedroom without bothering to look inside. “You mean, you aren’t going to be following my every move all day, every day?”
He appeared at the end of the hallway. “Follow me.”
I sighed as I fell in step behind him, and just on the other side of the small kitchen there was a door. I honestly wouldn’t have even seen it tucked away in the corner had he not led me straight to it. He removed a set of keys and jammed it into the lock, and my gut started churning. Red flags started swaying in my mind’s eye. Alarms bells went off in my gut. What the hell was so important behind that door that he felt the need to lock it.
He turned on a light and revealed a narrow spiraling staircase downward. “I’ll expect you down here at 8 PM sharp. If you’re late by even a millisecond, our deal is off.”
“And what is it we’re going to be doing down here?” I asked as I followed him.
I grew concerned when he didn’t outright answer me. However, once I stepped off the final step, he turned on another light.
Which illuminated the fucking sex dungeon that sprawled out in front of me.
“Holy shit,” I whispered.
“Like I said,” he murmured into my ear as he walked by me, “eight o’clock, sharp.”
