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Chapter Three
When I woke, there was something velvety pressed against my face. My stomach turned and my neck throbbed as I forced my eyes open and gasped, sitting upright. I was in the most lavish room I’d ever laid eyes on. The bed was huge and draped in white and blue silk with a plush headboard towering over me. The walls were soft peach stripes and the floor was fluffy, creamy carpet. The window was open and there was a small balcony that looked out over endless blue water. Before the window was a marble bench with a tray of steaming coffee and biscuits laid out. Someone must have been here just minutes ago.
I pushed back the covers and found myself dressed in a thin cotton nightgown that just brushed my knees. I crossed my arms over my chest and made my way on wobbly feet to the window. The coffee smelled amazing, rich and expensive. I turned away and paced the room to the door on the opposite end. It was locked.
There was another door to the left of the bed and I entered to find a marble bathroom with fluffy rugs thrown over the floor to protect my feet from the cold ground. There were two sinks, an enormous shower with several heads coming down from the ceiling, and a toilet in a separate alcove at the far end. There was also a balcony by the sinks and I checked the doors. Also locked.
Draped over a chair was a wrap dress and a slender, velvety box. I lifted the dress and noted it was exactly my size. The box yielded two sets of lacy bras and panties, one in mint green and the other in peach. I set it aside, distantly embarrassed that someone had picked out my undergarments for me. Surely Duran hadn’t. If he lived in a house like this, he had to have been born with a silver spoon in his mouth. Likely he had servants for everything.
I left the bathroom and went to the window. The coffee was calling to me so I sat down and poured a cup and stirred in cream. It was delicious, thick and just strong enough, with a hint of hazelnut. My stomach woke with a vengeance, reminding me how hungry I was. The biscuits were fluffy and the raspberry jam tasted fresh and tangy. I unashamedly ate the entire plate before refilling my coffee cup and wandering to the bathroom.
I struggled with the shower for a while before figuring out how to turn on the water and adjust it to my liking. Then I stood in the vast shower stall, surrounded by shimmery glass, and let the hot water run over me. There was a peach scrub and shampoo set and I cleaned everything from my body with it. All the remnants of Duran’s mouth on me and the traces of his scent from my hair. And I washed it down the drain. Good riddance.
Other than putting the nightgown on me, no one had touched me while I was unconscious. There was no trace of soreness anywhere save the fingermarks Duran had left on my hips from the other night.
When I felt clean again, I dried off with a lavish, white towel. I hated the thought of putting on the garments left for me, but the thought of facing Duran in the thin nightdress was worse. So I slid the peach bra and panties on. They felt like satin against my skin, hugging my curves perfectly. Then I pulled the pale blue wrap dress around my body and tied it around my waist. It had thin straps, revealing my shoulders and upper back, and a slit that ran up to mid thigh.
There wasn’t any makeup, but there was some hair product. I dried my hair with a towel and scrunched some mousse through it to tame the waves. There were faint dark circles beneath my eyes, but other than that, I looked normal. In such lavish and unfamiliar surroundings, it was comforting that at least I looked like myself.
There was a timid knock at the door in the bedroom. I crept from the bathroom and crossed the room, hanging back a few steps. The knock sounded again and the door creaked ajar and a pair of dark eyes appeared around the corner. Only they belonged to a woman, not, thank God, to Duran.
“Hello, I’m Olivia,” she said, sliding into view. “I was just checking on you.”
She was small and beautiful with tanned skin, dark hair, and even darker eyes. Her petite body was curvy with full breasts and hips and she wore a pink sundress that just brushed her knees and her feet were bare. There was an aura of warmth and kindness about her coupled with a fluttering anxiety in the curve of her brows and set of her mouth.
“Who are you?” I asked.
“I’m Lucian’s fiancée,” she said, stepping in and shutting the door.
“Who’s Lucian?”
“He’s Duran’s brother,” she explained. “Did he tell you anything at all?”
I drew myself up, hands clasped behind my back. “No, he was horrible and he said he’d do something terrible to me if I didn’t come with him. After that, I don’t remember anything because apparently he thought it was alright to stab me with a needle and knock me out for God knows how long.”
“Just a day,” she said. “And you did look at his laptop.”
“That’s no excuse,” I muttered.
She crossed her arms and swayed her weight to one hip. “Well, Lucian owns the house and I’m here for a visit before the engagement party. Duran has a summer house, but it’s easier for him to stay here so he can take care of business with Lucian. He’s not supposed to bring girls back though.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Lucian runs a tight ship,” she said, bouncing a little and going to sit on the bed. “Did you sleep well? I can see you had breakfast.”
“I guess so,” I said.
Something about Olivia’s easygoing demeanor, despite the flickers of nervousness here and there, was putting me at ease. Yes, Duran had kidnapped me, but he hadn’t brought me to a dungeon or tied me up in a basement. Far from it, the house was breathtaking. And so far, Olivia had been nothing but kind.
“Do you want more breakfast? There’s fruit and rolls downstairs in the kitchen if you want something else.”
I was still famished. Whatever Duran had knocked me out with had stirred quite an appetite. Olivia waited until I nodded and then she skipped to the door and pulled it ajar, revealing a lavish hallway strung with brass chandeliers. I hesitated by the bed.
“I don’t have any shoes,” I said.
“Oh, I walk barefoot in the house most of the time,” she said. “Keeps the maids from having to clean up after us. Of course, Lucian and Duran just stomp around with their muddy shoes whenever they want, but oh well, I try.”
I followed her out into the hall, dazzled by the beautiful decor. The hardwood flooring was glowing cherry, the wallpaper was pale blue, and the mirrors and furnishings were brass. At the end of the hall was a large landing with a spiral staircase surrounded by a blue and gold railing. I followed Olivia down the spiraling steps and through an even more lavish hall to an enormous kitchen with white tiling and bright blue appliances. Everything about the house was opulent and breathtakingly beautiful, a modern twist on the halls of Versailles.
