I slid my naked body under the covers and hepulled them up to my chin like some kind of gentleman. There wasthen a knock at my door. Darren was already at the doorway by thetime I looked over to see that it was a short older man with athick white mustache, white hair,and round belly, wearing a dirty white apron and holding a silvertray. Darren took the tray, nodded at the man, and then shut thedoor with his foot. He must have been Pascal.
Darren walked over to my bedside and set thetray down on the nightstand.
“You missed your dinner,” he said plainly.“Eat this and I’ll let you go to bed.”
I looked over at the tray that contained asmall bowl of soup and a very large glass of water. I wasn’t in themood to eat, but the soup smelled like chicken noodle and I waskind of hungry. I could handle some soup.
I sat up, tucking the covers under my armsso that the sheet would remain in place to cover my breasts andtook the bowl from the tray. Darren sat at the end of the bed,watching me intently as I scooped up the soup in what I could onlydescribe as an actual ladle and gave it a small blow to cool itdown before taking a sip. I almost moaned aloud; it was thatfucking good. A smirk of approval began to form on Darren’s face ashe watched me finish the entire bowl and set it back down on thetray. I then completely downed the entire glass of water and set itnext to the bowl.
Darren stood and examined my bowl.
“Holy shit, you actually finishedsomething?” he said amused.
“They’ll write about it in history books.” Iyawned as I laid myself down onto the pillows.
His smile was genuine when he bent down andplaced his hand against my cheek. It was warm and took up theentire right side of my face. I stared up at him with big doe eyes,losing myself in the deep blue of his own. Somehow, his gaze hadgrown softer, and suddenly, I didn’t feel so scared. He then brokethe connection and kissed my forehead.
“Go to sleep, princess. I’ll see you in themorning … with a whole new attitude,” he said, the final part awarning.
I nodded slightly before sinking furtherinto my pillows and burying myself under the sheets. I heard Darrencollect my tray and walk out of the room, gently shutting the doorbehind him. I rolled over and looked at the clock. It was only 8:30p.m. A little early for me to go to bed, but I was exhausted andhad had enough of the day already. I closed my eyes and burroweddeep into the bed for some quiet solitude.
Chapter Twelve
Negotiate
Smack … smack, smack … SMACK. Sounds. Woodensounds clashing against each other. Strikes—bo strikes. Pain. Screaming. Grunting. Blood. And thenDarren’s stormy gaze as he took my body from me. Over and overagain.
I jolted from my bed, my breath coming in and out in heavy gusts, sweatcovering my face and mixing with my hair while my hands flew out in front of me at the ready.Adrenaline and fear spiked through my veins as I tried to calm myheartbeat from the throes of the nightmare. I looked around theroom, frantically searching for intruders. Thankfully, I foundnone, only noticing the soft light that peered through the windows.It must still be early morning. Glancing over at the clock, mythoughts were correct as it read 7:32 in the morning.
I took a single deep breath and sat up,resting my elbows on my raised knees, and placed my head in myhands. I needed to calm down. I closed my eyes and tried to breatheslowly through my nose, but all I could see was the fight I hadwith Darren in his training room—the fight that I lost. All I couldhear were the sounds of our bos crashing against each other; thesound echoed in my ears, remindingme of my failure. I should have won that fight, should have beenable to end him right then and there, but he was just too fuckinggood. He was better than I was.
What the fuck were the odds of being boughtby someone who trained harder than I did? Who was obviously abetter fighter than I was? I really hit the motherfucking jackpotof Murphy’s Law.
I furiously tossed the sheets off my nakedbody, threw on a white silk robe, and walked out onto my balcony, deciding on some fresh air toclear my head. I stepped out onto the cement in my bare feet, thecold stone waking me with every step. The sun was beginning torise, and it was already painting the sky with beautiful palepinks, purples, and yellows. Ofall the rooms in the house, I really did love the view from myroom. I would have a perfect show of the sunset and sunrise every day … but the thought of thatonly made my heart grow heavy.
I sat down on the cushioned bench andcontinued to gaze out at the water. The birds were chirping away totheir morning song while the seagulls sang their own tune above thewater. It was peaceful, serene … and a total fucking lie. This wasnot a place of tranquility. This was a prison—my prison—and nothingmore. With Darren as my warden, I didn’t know exactly how my futurewould play out here, but now that I knew what he expected of me, Icould learn to evolve.
I thought about the family he wanted to havewith me. The fact he wanted me ashis wife had me all sorts of confused, but I quickly realized itdidn’t matter what Darren thought or wanted because none of thatwas happening. This situation was only temporary.
Eventually,I would find a way out. I was determined and fierce, but the onething I needed to learn most was patience. I wasn’t going to escapehim overnight. I probably wasn’tgoing to escape him this month … or even
