I clear my throat roughly and step back before I do something catastrophic, like touch her again.
“Come on.”
I lead her from the room and through the quiet halls of the house, painfully aware of her presence beside me the entire time. By the time we reach her bedroom door, the tension between us has shifted into something infinitely dangerous.
Liliana pauses at the entrance and looks up at me. I shouldn’t want to kiss her right now. She wouldn’t want me to. And I did just arm her with a weapon that she could inadvertently hurt me with.
And yet.
“Good night, Liliana.”
Her fingers tighten slightly around the hilt of the knife. “Night, Rafaelle.”
Then she disappears into the room and shuts the door behind her. I stare at it for longer than necessary before finally walking away.
Sleep is no kinder to me tonight than it is any other night. The nightmare comes fast and vicious, almost as soon as I shut my eyes, dragging me beneath darkness and a bloodstained memory I spend most of my life trying to outrun. Blue eyes stare back at me through the abyss.
Always those fucking blue eyes.
Accusing. Haunting. Dead.
I wake up in a matter of hours, sweat cooling against my skin along with irritation. Sitting up in the bed, I grab my phone and find something to keep me busy until the rest of the world rises.
Breakfast can’t come fast enough.
The dining room is quiet when I enter, sunlight spilling across the long table lined with enough food to feed an army.Coffee, fresh fruit, pastries, eggs and bacon. My gaze slides over it all with disinterest.
When Liliana walks in moments later behind the butler, she immediately steals every ounce of my attention. She’s changed into new clothes, an oversized black sweater and shorts that show off her smooth legs. A part of me is a little annoyed at the sight. I’m sure I requested she gets pants among the variety of clothes gifted to her this morning.
Her dark hair falls loosely around her shoulders and sleep lingers faintly in her expression. What truly catches my attention however is the knife in her hand. A slow grin spreads across my face.
“You’re going to carry that everywhere?” I drawl as she steps closer.
She glances down at the weapon before looking back at me sweetly.
“I figured if I’m being held hostage by a psychopath, I should accessorize appropriately. I’d wear it like a necklace if I could.”
A laugh escapes me before I can stop it.
“I bet you’d look sexy with a knife around your neck,” I say.
She glares, “I really don’t want to know what goes on in that head of yours.”
“All things that go bump in the night, beautiful.”
She eyes me suspiciously and is about to take the seat across from me when I clear my throat, gesturing beside me. I watch her wrestle with the decision for a second but she eventually chooses to take the easy road.
“You’re so annoying,” she mutters, taking the seat beside me.
One of the staff immediately steps forward to pour coffee into her cup. Liliana startles slightly.
“Thank you,” she murmurs quickly.
Another places a plate of eggs and bacon and bread before her.
“Thank you.”
Then juice. I can tell she’s deeply uncomfortable. It’s adorable watching her try to navigate being waited on. It’s clear she isn’t sure what to do with all the attention.
