I expect to find myself in my room, but the walls that greet me are entirely different.
Elegant modern wallpaper, a sophisticated sofa, a nightstand, an extravagant lamp.
What the…
All sleep vanishes from my eyes as I jump up in bed and pull the sheet to my neck, flinching at the sound of rustling clothes.
Where am I?
The last thing I remember is having that glass of champagne with Cecily and then falling…
Falling…
Into Creighton’s arms.
No. Nope.
That one was a cruel dream.
Slowly, too slowly, I let go of the sheet and swing my feet onto the plush carpet.
I’m still in my dress, so that should be a good sign.
My gaze roams around the hotel-like room for some sort of a clue, but I still come up empty. No idea what this place is, but it reeks of money and an ominous feeling.
I search for my bag, my phone, but they’re nowhere to be seen. Even my smartwatch is gone.
Okay, don’t panic.
Don’t. Panic.
I open the door and step into an equally elegant hall filled with modern paintings. After walking a while, I reach a patio that overlooks a cozy living room downstairs.
My fingers latch onto the railing, using it as an anchor while I descend the glass stairs.
I don’t think twice as I head to the entrance. To my surprise, the double doors aren’t locked. When I open them, I slam into a hard chest.
For a moment, I think this is a continuation of the dream from earlier.
For a moment, I stop and stare as if I’m caught in a trance.
Gorgeous, absolutely haunting ocean eyes swallow me in their dark depths with a promise of complete destruction.
It’s been a long time since I last saw Creighton in person, and being in his presence right now is nothing short of being shoved down from a height that’s meant to kill.
It’s being thrust into the fog and having no hope of finding a way out.
It’s breathing but getting no air.
It’s crazy how everything can change in the span of a month. There were times when I found Creighton overbearing, a little bit frightening, a little bit assholish, but this is the first time he feels…intimidating.
Like the type you’d deliberately change paths upon seeing to avoid being smashed by his disastrous energy.
He’s in his usual jeans and hoodie. His now longer hair flops to one side, kissing his forehead.
I almost forgot just how tall Creighton is and how small I feel in comparison. How his broad shoulders block the sun and he becomes everything I see. Unlike the past, though, right now, the difference in height and physique feels downright threatening.
It’s in the aura. In the way he stares at me with enough dispassion to dry up the blood in my veins and watch me as I shrivel and die.
I blink twice, but he’s not disappearing. If anything, he gains more presence.
A real presence.
My heart beats wildly in my rib cage and I could swear he feels it through my skin and my clothes.
It dawns on me then.
At this moment where my breasts are crushed against his chest and my space is filled with his cologne.
This is not a dream.
It’s more real than the breaths I’m inhaling and the air that’s mixed with his distinctive clean scent.
I step back, not-so-subtly forcing some distance between us.
Creighton’s brow dips from my breasts to my waist and down to where the dress stops above my knees.
It’s a miracle I don’t catch fire under his ruthless intensity before he slides his scalding attention back to my face.
“It’s you,” I murmur.
“You expected someone else?”
I’m not ready for the onslaught of his perfectly calm, deeply rich voice. That voice does unpleasant things to me, like turning me absolutely obsessed to the point where I attempted everything under the sun just so I could hear it again.
Including watching and rewatching some old videos in which I was bugging him to speak more than a few words.
But that’s neither for here nor now.
I take another step back. “Where am I? Where have you taken me?”
His expression, cold and callous, gains a sinister edge. “Somewhere no one can find you.”
“W-what?”
“We’re on a faraway island no one can reach. Not even your father and his gang of serial killers.”
My lips quiver, but I force myself to remain calm. “Where’s Cecily? What have you done to her?”
“Probably back to catch her classes.”
“You…made her trick me?”
“No force was involved. She agreed to help on her own, though she thought I only wanted to talk to you. I told her nothing about this plan.”
My limbs tremble the more I stare at his lifeless eyes. It’s like I’m looking at a stranger, a person without a core, a heart, or morals.
A being that’s designed for vengeance.
That’s all Creighton ever wanted, and that’s the only thing he’s actively pursued ever since he found out about my family’s involvement in his tragic childhood.
I was and always will be a tool with which he’ll use to exact revenge on Mom and Papa.
And although I figured that out a long time ago, this is the first time it’s slapped me across the face with enough strength to cause a sting in my eyes.
It takes everything in me to speak in a composed tone. “I want to go home.”
“This is the only home you’ll have. Get used to it.”
“Creighton…this is called kidnapping.”
“And you shooting me is called attempted murder, but you don’t see me putting a label on that.”
I flinch as if I’ve been punched in the gut.
And it’s not only due to his words. It’s the dispassionate way he speaks with, the coldness that coats his skin, and the cruelty that radiates off him.
I don’t recognize the man who stands in front of me. He’s a mash of particles with no heart or soul.
And I need to get the hell away from him before he does something we’ll both regret.
I let my gaze stray sideways in search of an escape.
The door is behind him, and as much as I want to use that obvious option, there’s no way I’d win against Creighton in the physical department. Not only is he bigger than me, but he literally pummels people for sport.
I’m not ready for what happens next.
I’ve been so caught up in my plans to escape that I completely missed when he started advancing toward me.
The moment I look up, it’s too late.
His body traps mine and his hand wraps around my throat. He squeezes enough that my complete attention homes in on him.
The grip is firm enough to freeze me in place, allowing me only enough air to inhale him, and fall irrevocably into him.
“You don’t need to busy that pretty brain of yours with thoughts of escaping, because that won’t be happening. You’re mine now, little purple, literally and figuratively.”
My nails dig into his wrist. “Creighton, stop this, please…”
“Don’t beg when we still haven’t gotten to that phase yet.” His fingers stroke my throat with no ounce of warmth whatsoever. “I’m going to need you to be real obedient for me, can you do that?”
I purse my lips.
“Answer the question.”