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Using his surname doesn’t get the beastly kind of reaction I am after. Instead, he stands at the foot of the bed and considers me for a long moment. The longer his body heat is away from mine, the more reality sets in. I drag my dress down and cover my exposed body as quickly as I can.
Shame washes over me. The heat in my cheeks is no longer from the need to have this man ruin me in every way possible. I cast my eyes across the room and look out at the full moon rather than watch him lose interest in me. “Maybe you should leave.”
He pulls me to him and takes me against this chest. “I can’t ruin you. Never let me touch you again.” With that, he pushes me onto the bed and walks away.
Giving me his back, the kingpin shoves his hands into his pockets. “You don’t belong here. I’ll have you taken somewhere else. Mabel will take your measurements as well and gather new clothes for you. You will lack nothing, but you and I will hardly see each other again, if at all.”
Chills spill down my spine. I swallow back the tears of rejection. No one likes to be told they don’t belong and treated like they are not worthy. I should look at this as a blessing, but the sting hurts all too much for me to lie to myself.
I debate going to him, but I don’t think I could handle him pushing me away for a second time.
“I’d like to go back to school in London. I have a year left of my schooling. I want to finish it.”
“No. You would be too far away from me.”
His snarled answer cuts deep.
“If you don’t want me here, let me go.”
His tone is deathly cold when he speaks next. “You either see our deal through or I collect your father for payment on his debt for me. Believe me, Bella, when I say he won’t get such a lavish room to stay in if I’m forced to go that way.”
My swirling emotions make it hard to think past my knee jerk reaction of wanting to slap this man. “So what now? Do I go work in one of your sex clubs? Or do you want me to strip for one of your pole dancing clubs?”
He grabs the handle of the door and opens. “If you need anything, Mabel is in her room near the kitchen. It gets quiet out here and dark. Very dark.”
I have a feeling he’s not talking about the lack of light.
“Aren’t you across the hallway?”
“It’s better you don’t look for me, Bella. Don’t trust me in the darkness.”
I know for certain if I go to him in the middle of the night, there will be no stopping our next encounter. “I’m not afraid of the dark, Beast. There are far more dangerous things to fear.”
“Me? Is that what you are implying? I might look like a monster, but I am not one. Until you betray me. And then I am your worst nightmare. I think you learned as much tonight.”
His words serve as a smack across the face, killing off the last bit of hunger I harbored for him. “Thank you for reminding me why I'm here. Am I a prisoner? Or can I come and go as I please?”
“You are not a prisoner inside this home or the connected grounds. There are only two rules you must follow. Remember, you made a deal with me. I suggest you don’t break it.”
I rise to my knees in the middle of the bed. “So, yes. I am your prisoner. What are your rules?”
“You can not leave these grounds unless I am with you.”
“And?”
De La Rosa goes to the window. Silver light reflects off of domed glass in the far distance. “Stay out of the atrium at the far end of the property.”
He probably has bodies buried in there or torture devices he doesn’t want me to see.
“I’m not the monster you think I am. Obey me and you will find your life can be pleasant here.”
“For how long?”
“Till death do us part.”
With that, he stalks out, closing the door behind him.
My heart breaks into a million pieces. I fall over and want to let the tears out, but they don’t come. As I fall asleep, his last words cling to my thoughts.
