There’s no dark desire.
No sick cravings are buried in his stare.
He looks at me like he could possibly see past everything to the desperate girl barely holding onto life. My heart stutters as I stare back at him. I’m not sure what it is about him that has me frozen in place. Unlike every other man here, his presence doesn’t feel threatening. Despite his serious expression or the muscles I imagine are under his suit, something tells me this man wouldn’t hurt me.
You can’t know that.
Yet, somehow, I do.
His brows crease, and something sparks inside the dark cavity of my chest when his eyes meet mine once more—a tiny sliver of light trying to break through the weight of despair, crushing me to the point where I can hardly breathe.
I want to reach out. Clasp his arm and ask him to take me from this place, but my body is weighed down with so much exhaustion I can’t make my limbs work.
Help me,I plead, but no sound comes out.
His frown deepens as he studies my face, and for a second, I think he’s heard my desperate thoughts. Then, his steps slow, and a sense of hope builds in my chest, letting the light shine brighter as the voice in my head speaks a little louder.
Please help me.
But then something draws his attention, and he looks away like he never saw me at all.
The room slowly filters back into my vision, and the light inside me starts to fade into the darkness. Despair crashes down on me, washing away any of the hope that had momentarily given me life.
Still, as I continue to slowly unravel inside, I keep my eyes on the mysterious stranger. He stands with the woman, even more on guard than before, and I realise the other man is no longer with them.
Glancing to the armchair, I find it empty.
Where is he?
A commotion draws my attention.
The younger man stands in front of the woman, putting himself between her and another party guest, who says something I can’t make out, his eyes moving up and down the woman. But whatever it was, has the young man lunging forward, his fist grasping the front of the other man’s shirt.
The woman clasps her hand around the young man’s arm, but her concern seems to be for him rather than herself, even though it’s clear the comments were directed at her. She says something to him, and I can almost imagine the soft, soothing tones. Obviously, she and the man she entered arm in arm with are together, so who is this man to her? Her son, maybe?
He pulls the other guy closer before gritting out something else, then letting go. The man stumbles, shooting one last glare their way before straightening his suit and disappearing down one of the halls.
No one has ever protected me like that.
Most of the men here would be all too happy to see me suffer, and the guards, well, they usually turn a blind eye.
I yearn for him to look at me again.
To see me.
Would he protect me, too, if he knew what was happening?
The woman palms his cheek, smiling softly, and his shoulders relax ever so slightly.
I’m still watching him when the other man returns. His mouth is set in a firm line, and his brows sit low over his eyes. A few words are exchanged before the trio starts moving through the room towards the way out.
Passing by me again, though not as close as the first time, I catch a snippet of their conversation. “Are you sure, Colton?” The woman’s brows wrinkle—eyes searching her partner’s, but I don’t hear his reply.
My feet move, and I take a step in their direction, then a second and a third—desperately wanting to follow them out. Except before I can take another, an arm snakes around my waist, pulling me back into a hard body.
“I knew this dress would look incredible on you,” he says into my ear. “And you fill it out so fucking perfectly.” He grasps my breast through the silk in a rough hold, his fingers digging into my skin as I bite my lip to stop the whimper from falling free. When I don’t make a sound, he tightens his hold of my breast to the point I’m sure my flesh is already blooming with new bruises.No, not here.
“But as much as I love you in it, I want you out of it.” His voice is harsh, and I don’t need to see his face to know he’s pissed, his dark aura wrapping around me and snaking down my throat until I’m suffocating in it.