Sadie
My blood ran cold as I stared at the screen. The flickering image of a beaten and terrified Bill Collins was seared into my mind. The horror of the sight should have sent me screaming for the nearest exit, but I found myself frozen in place, my gaze fixed on Zane. He watched me, his dark eyes like a predator's, waiting for my reaction. His smirk was a cruel, beautiful curve on his lips. He wanted to see me break. He wanted to see the fear in my eyes.
"This is what happens, princess," he said, his voice a cold, hard promise. "This is what happens when you mess with what's mine. You wanted to know what I was capable of. Now you know."
He reached out and, with a single, deliberate movement, hit a button on the screen. The live feed vanished, replaced by a dark, blank screen. The silence that followed was more terrifying than the images.
"You're not scared," he stated, the words a low rumble. It wasn't a question.
I took a shaky breath, my mind racing. A part of me was screaming, telling me to run, to flee this monster. But another part, a dark, primal part I hadn't known existed, was captivated. He had protected me. He had eliminated the threat. And he had shown me a part of his world that no one else had ever seen. The thought was both terrifying and intoxicating.
"No," I whispered, the word coming out as a breath. "I'm not scared."
He let out a low, satisfied chuckle, a sound that sent a shiver down my spine. "Good."
He moved closer, his hand reaching out to cup my cheek, his touch surprisingly gentle. "You're learning, princess. You're learning that my shadows are a safe place to be. You just have to trust me." He leaned in, his lips a whisper from mine. "Trust the monster."
My heart pounded against my ribs as I leaned into his touch. I closed my eyes, a silent confession of my trust. When I opened them, his face was inches from mine, his obsidian eyes dark and possessive. A silent question hung in the air, a question I answered with a single, trembling glance. I looked up at him, and for the first time in my life, I felt truly seen. He saw the darkness in me, the part that craved his protection, the part that was a moth drawn to his fire. He gave a low, satisfied chuckle. "Good."
He led me to a sleek, modern dining table with two chairs. He pulled one out for me and I sat, my mind still reeling from what I had seen and felt. He sat across from me and gestured to a butler who stood in the corner of the room. The butler immediately disappeared and came back with a silver tray. He set it down, and I looked at my plate. It was a plate of sushi. My favourite.
I stared at the plate, my mind racing. How could he know that? It was a seemingly small thing, but it was a terrifying reminder of just how much he knew about me. He was always watching. He was always there.
"You're not going to eat?" he asked, his voice low.
"How...how did you know?" I asked, gesturing to the sushi.
He smiled, a slow, predatory smile. "I know everything about you, princess. And I will always know."
I stared at him, a shiver running down my spine. He was a monster, a beautiful, terrifying monster. And I was his. I took a piece of sushi, and as I ate, I realised that I wasn't just safe. I was home. And that was the most terrifying thought of all.