22
Olivia
Aiden’s hulking guard who looks like a Bond Villain has his eyes peeled on me.
He’s standing by the railing on the poolside, watching me like a hawk before it swoops down to collect its prey.
It’s like he truly believes I’m going to pull out some weapon from God knows where and start shooting up the place.
There are two other guards with machine guns about a hundred yards away guarding the wall. And others by the side of the house.
The more I look around, the more I’m reminded of my dark reality and why my every thought needs to be centered on getting out of here.
Not on him.
Aiden Romanov.
I’ve been sitting around the wicker table on the terrace for the last hour, thinking about him and how I behaved with him last night.
Although I’m outside, I still feel trapped. The air around me is tight and suffocating.
I almost feel like I need fresh air from it, or some reprieve.
It’s not, however, the air’s fault it feels the way it does.
The problem is me.
The gentle breeze caresses my cheek and lifts the ends of my hair, almost like an answer of confirmation of my thoughts. That it’s me who isn’t right.
If I were there’s no way I would have given into him so easily without a fight.
It was like I lost my mind to lust. The claws of maddening lust pierced my mind and gripped on to my inner desires, unleashing them in a tumbling wave of need. And greed.
I didn’t know it was possible to feel greedy for someone. Last night I got a firsthand taste of it, and the more I saw the effect I had on a man like Aiden, the more I wanted.
What terrifies me is there was nothing about the way I kissed him and touched him that wasn’t real.
I can’t explain it other than it must be my fucked-up mind playing tricks on me.
I know deep down it’s not that though. The same as there’s nothing wrong with the air.
What’s wrong is I’m attracted to him and it’s the kind of deadly attraction that’s hard to resist. It’s screwing with me because I’ve never met anyone who could bring forth my deepest inner desires and make me forget.
Forget key things like he’s my enemy, my captor, and the man who could kill me in a heartbeat if he wanted to.
I must be completely fucked up.
I’ve been so very stupid. A foolish woman desperate to save her family, one who acted on impulse and didn’t think things through. And I’m still not thinking, and still foolish if I feel bad for the way he didn’t want me in the end.
What the hell is wrong with me if I can be fixated on that?
I swallow hard at the thought and think of my mother.
I don’t know what’s happening to her.
Being outside is the first step toward escaping but it’s difficult not to look obvious with eyes on me everywhere.
In fact, it’s near impossible.