Maria made her feet move over the threshold. She heard Raphael shut the door behind her. Then she felt him move closer to her back. Her breath was labored, her feet rooted to the plush carpet beneath her feet. “Come,” he whispered in her ear, his sea-salty and fresh water scent cocooning her. He walked farther into the room. He paused when she didn’t follow. Raphael held out his hand. “This way.” His lip twitched. “I won’t bite.”
Maria put her shaking hand in his. His palm was warm. Maria’s heart beat an irregular rhythm as Raphael folded his hand securely around hers. It felt like the hold of a lover, protective, nurturing. Not that she would know, but from what she had observed and read it seemed familiar. Raphael led her to the closet. When he opened the door, she had to blink at what lay before her. This was the same closet she had been bound and gagged in, and yet it wasn’t. All of Raphael’s clothes were gone, and in their place was a rail of white floor-length dresses. They had thin straps, and slits up their floor-length skirts. Maria swallowed when she saw that they were slightly sheer. She looked away, and her eyes traveled to the bed in the center of the room. It was also dressed in white. The mattress and comforter looked plush and soft. White pillows lay at the top of the bed. Maria’s stomach rolled when she saw bright red roses in a vase on a side table. A lamp illuminated the room.
“Do you like it?”
Maria turned her head to Raphael. It wasn’t until she glanced down that she realized her hand still lay in his. She went to pull it away, but Raphael held on tightly. He moved before her, and Maria couldn’t look away from the mesmerizing sight of his golden eyes if she tried.
“I want you to be comfortable while you’re here.”
Maria knew she should have kept her mouth closed, but she had to ask, “Why?” Her gaze roved around the room. It was the prettiest room she had been in in a very long time. Her attention snagged on the roses again, and she had to fight back the tears the red blooms threatened to cause, the painful memories they tried to evoke. “You told me that if I escaped, if I left the room . . . there would be punishment. This . . . this feels like a reward.”
Raphael sighed and dropped his head. He looked up at her through impossibly long black lashes. He was perfection. She feared she would never get used to his stunning looks. “I was angry that you left,” he said and dropped her hand. Maria couldn’t help but notice how empty her hand suddenly felt. “I can get angry sometimes. But I’m trying to be better at controlling it.” Raphael’s lip curved up, a flicker of a smile ghosting on his mouth. “I thought there was no time like the present to start.” Raphael ran his hand over the back of his neck. To Maria, the move looked nervous. But she kept her guard. She knew she shouldn’t believe a word out of his beautiful mouth. “I had the staff make up this room for you while you’re here.”
Maria inhaled a shaky breath. “And . . .” She straightened her shoulders. “And how long will that be? That I’ll be here . . . with you?” She didn’t want to ask the real question—how long before he would kill her. Maria would rather face death blindly. She didn’t want to count down her days.
Raphael’s eyes narrowed for a second and his head lifted. He smiled at Maria, ran his thread-wrapped finger down her cheek, then turned to the clothes rail, dismissing her question. He lifted one of the identical gauze dresses and brought it to where she stood. “Change.” Raphael handed Maria the dress. She took it. “You must be hungry. I have dinner coming any minute now.”
Raphael left the room, and Maria watched him go. He turned and met her eyes as he closed the closet doors. She heard him move away. Only when she believed him to be out of earshot did she release a choked breath and drop to the edge of the bed. She searched around the room, trying to understand what all of this meant. She viewed the opulence of the room and furnishings, but she could still feel the phantom hands of Raphael thrusting her against the wall of the club and cutting off her air with unyielding hands. Maria sat on the bed, closed her eyes. And she prayed. Please help me, she silently begged God. Am I here to guide him to your grace? Am I here to find any good inside him that remains, to bring him into the light? Maria pushed away the memory of him choking her and embraced the one of him protecting her, of pressing her against the wall so his brothers couldn’t see her. A strange flicker of heat burst in her chest. Maria closed her eyes and felt that warmth spread over her body like a blanket. She smiled and tipped her head back. Maria knew in that second that it was the Lord. It was Him confirming what she was here to do.