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Dane watches me for a moment, longer than necessary before moving toward me, gliding effortlessly like a seasoned predator ready to strike. His large frame makes me feel so small and I feel like I’ve lost all sense of control since I got out of the hurst. I feel vulnerable. Exposed. Naked under his heated glare.
“Have you eaten?” His voice is low, but I don’t miss the hint of malice. It’s obvious he’d rather be anywhere else but herewith me, and I can’t say I blame him. No one wants to be left with the new girl, and I could also do without the big flashlight on my head.
“I’m not hungry.” I mutter, lying effortlessly as I fight against my chattering teeth as the wind whips up and assaults my body. Pulling my jacket sleeves down, I wrap my arms around my body as my defensive walls shoot up. A part of me thinks the extra chill is coming from dark and dangerous. Hell, I’ve never known anyone to make me feel so on edge before. All of this is wrong, but what can I do about it now?
“Bed?”
My eyes grow wide, shocked by his question. “Excuse me?” disbelief is heavy on my tongue, causing a low rumble to erupt from his heavily tattooed throat.
He takes another step toward me and now he’s so close I can feel the heat of his breath as it tickles my head before he slowly brings his body down to my level.
“Mmmm… that wasn’t a straight-out no.” He smirks back at me, taking my comment way out of context and my stupid heart malfunctions, skipping a beat or two.
I swallow hard, his cedar scent invading my senses, hypnotizing me, pulling me deeper under his spell as his blue eyes never leave mine. Not even for a second. “If you’re asking if I want to go to bed then the answer is yes. If you mean with you, then absolutely not.” I feel the heat of my embarrassment rush to my cheeks and I hope the he doesn’t pick up on it. The last thing I want is for this monster to know he has some kind of effect on me.
He licks his lips before pulling his body back up to his full height again, drowning me back into his shadow once more, hismuscles flexing under his tight black t-shirt, allowing the tattoos on his arm to glow under the moonlight.
He drinks me in, not trying to hide it as he undresses me with his eyes before throwing his head back on a laugh. “You might live to regret that Buttercup, because I don’t ask twice.” I don’t miss the threat dancing between us.
“Wow… looks like someone is a little full of themself.” I say before I can stop my mouth from moving. I’ve no idea where this newfound bravado is coming from but I’m not mad about it. The last thing I want to do is stand here and look like a little victim for him to take advantage of. Maybe it’s my fight or flight kicking in. It doesn’t escape me that once again I seem to be dancing with death—a habit which seems to be forming. But no matter how dangerous this guy seems; I just can’t seem to stop myself. Another one of my downfalls is always having to have the last words and one of these days that might end up being the death of me.
Surprisingly, dark and dangerous doesn’t say anything. Instead, he turns on his dirty, laceless army boots and walks in the opposite direction. Fuck, does he really expect me to follow him like some kind of obedient dog? “Hey, where are you going?” I ask, reluctantly calling out into the darkness.
“Follow me and you’ll find out.” He laughs back at me, fueling my anger some more.
“Are you serious? I don’t even know you and you want me to follow you around a dark ass castle? How do I know I can trust you?”
“That’s the beauty of it. You don’t.” His voice floats between us like ice. “The choice is yours, Buttercup. Follow me, or don’t. Maybe I’ll lead you to your room, maybe I’ll lead you tomine.” He pauses, “but trust me, whatever the outcome it will be better than staying out here on your own. As scary as I can be, there’s a lot worse who roam these walls, always on the lookout for strays… but like I said, it’s your choice.”
Fuck. I’ve gone and landed myself in an impossible situation. Do I stay here and try to figure this out all on my own or do I take the risk and follow in the big bad wolf’s footsteps while praying to everything holy that I end up at my room, safe and in one piece?
A huge part of me is unsure about him. All the signs lead to him leading me into a deadly trap. However, the small rational part of my mind is fighting back, telling me that this guy doesn’t know who I am. There’s no reason for him to do me dirty. Not really. Maybe I’m overthinking things and he’s just your average kid trying to scare the new girl just for shits and giggles.
This is a new start for me. A chance for me to finally wipe the slate clean and erase the demons of my past. I know a huge part of that is leaving my old self back in Braxton and I suppose that also includes my suspicious mind and anything else which no longer serves me.
Cautiously, against my better judgement I force one foot in front of the other, tiptoeing over foreign ground. I’m in an impossible situation. If I don’t follow him, I’ll end up lost and all alone in this unfamiliar place. It doesn’t help that I haven’t seen another source of life since the Dean left us and because I’m the new girl nobody here knows who I am, which in turn means no one would notice if I went missing.
I have no fucking choice but to trust him, even if this is the perfect alibi for the psycho a few feet in front of me.
Stop Phoenix. Quit with the negative mindset. Not everyone is out to get you.
“Wait…” I call out after him, reluctantly giving in and admitting defeat. Whether I want to admit it or not, the truth is I’m going to need this guy if I have any hope of finding my living quarters. So long as he takes me safely to my room, I can deal with everything else later.
The tall muscular Adonis continues to walk ahead, completely ignoring me. Happy to act like I don’t fucking exist. Arrogant in the knowledge that right in this moment it doesn’t matter what he does or doesn’t do because I need him. Knowing I have no other option other than to follow him, and even though I have no idea where he’s headed, he doesn’t falter, continuing straight ahead, delving into the darkness without any disregard for me.
DANE
I listen to the sound of her soft footsteps closing in behind me, the total opposite of my wild and feral heart as it pounds deep inside my chest.
I’d heard the rumors.
They’d been circulating around the halls all day and I wanted to be the first one to see her. But fuck, nothing could have prepared me or my dick for her arrival. Finally coming face to face with her caught me off guard. I had every intention of hiding out, biding my time before introducing myself, but White had to go and fuck it all up.
Meeting, my ass. The old witch wanted to call me out and make an example of me in the process. The way she always does when it comes to us Savage boys. She doesn’t like that she’s getting old and losing her grip on this place, but we both know there’s nothing she can do about it. It’s the circle of life.
I keep my eyes focused, fixed straight ahead as I walk around the west wing before navigating the cold, narrow corridors, confident that she’s still close behind me, her hurried steps struggling to keep up with my long strides.
Eventually I come to a sudden stop at the end of a narrow corridor. Nothing more than a wooden door leading to nowhere but darkness but Phoenix doesn’t know that. I turn to find her small frame behind me.
