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It would open about an inch and then shut. My bag kept getting in the way, but I knew from earlier, it wasn’t that. Then, the door stopped moving at all.

Lukas grabbed my shoulder. “Sit,” he ordered, thrusting an arm towards a chair covered in thick brocade.

Ignoring him, I grabbed the latch again, but he swooped in, picking me up and depositing me in the chair. My duffle was left in the middle of the room. He flicked a hand at me when I went to stand and to my horror, I couldn’t move.

“What did you do?” My breaths grew shallow, and my pulse raced, giving me an instant headache. I had no control over my limbs. I could twitch my fingers and my toes, move my neck and my eyes, but trying to do anything else was useless.

The man bent down in front of me, his hair sliding against my face as he leaned in. He inhaled deeply, his eyes shuttering, before he placed a hand on my chest right over my heart.

It was like someone injected me with warm water; the sensation was that instantly soothing. It felt like I’d just received a deep tissue massage. “What did you do?” No one could do these things.

He lifted his head and his hand, switching his grip to my neck before trailing his lips along the other side. Had I been able to move, my body would have puddled on the floor. The way he caressed me was so erotic I didn’t know what to do or think. Bryan had never touched me this way.

I wasn’t supposed to feel like this. He was weaving some kind of magic over me. Between the door, his nails, his supernatural speed, and now all this, I knew it wasn’t natural.

“Get off of me.” My voice sounded hoarse.

“Cassia, you’re not going home. You are going to do as I say.” Lukas stood. “If I need to put you in a cage, I will. I protect what is mine, even if it pains them.”

He wasn’t joking. “How many women have you done this to?”

“You.”

I still couldn’t move and my anger spiked. “You mean to tell me you’ve never taken women against their will before?”

“Not for a situation similar to yours.” He disappeared into the closet.

The energy in the room had shifted, as if the air itself was discontented. It could have just been me, but I was pretty sure it was more than that.

“Why do you keep saying I belong to you. Why me?”

“I chose you.” He walked back into the room. “I wanted you. I will see to it you have suitable clothing. The items in your bag are a disgrace.”

Exhausted, my fight began to drain away. For now. There was no way I wouldn’t be back at it after I got my strength back. “You can’t just take people.”

“I’m a born vampire. This is my Realm. I can have whatever I want.”

My vision narrowed to a pinprick.

CHAPTER 8

Cassia

Lukas kept me confined to the bedroom, which was his, for the entire week. He stayed away, for the most part. I don’t know where he slept or if he even needed to sleep. I’d never given vampires much thought, outside of the rare times I’d watched a movie with them in it.

The infrequent times I did see him, it felt like he was observing me more than doing anything else.

True to his word, he did have clothing brought in for me. A young woman named Katarina delivered the items, under his supervision.

Honestly, the selection was gorgeous. The materials were amazing and everything was beautifully designed. While the girl was putting things away, I did manage to get out of her that she’s human. But that was it. She was absolutely terrified of Lukas and when he glanced at her, she shut her mouth.

As long as he was hovering, I wouldn’t get another word out of her.

That was when I decided to try and start playing nice.

Throwing things at him and cussing him out at had been largely ineffective. I didn’t even get the satisfaction of watching things—or him, break. It was like he had eyes in the back of his head. He just went and froze things mid-air, plucking them like they were apples on a tree and setting them back down.

All he said was, “I was grossly mistaken over the state of your manners.”