AllFreeNovel
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Everyone is cheering, dancing, drinking, and… living.
I recognize more actors and musicians as I take in my environment. Fame. I am surrounded by fame, and my knees want to buckle at the idea. But I also know I can’t gawk because of Wonderland’s rule. We are all VIP. Which means that I am VIP.
When Sasha feels we’ve reached the spot she wants to be in, she instantly joins the crowd around us and begins dancing. I’ve never been one to dance, but I see no other choice but to sway to the music. I look up so I can watch the acrobats and notice that there is a balcony enclosed in glass in the distance. I see a silhouette of a man with a red light behind him.
I nudge Sasha to get her attention and yell into her ear as I point to the man. “Do you think that’s Nick Hudson?”
She pauses her dance, tilts her head and squints. “Yeah, I would say that’s a safe bet.” She returns to moving her body to the beat of the music.
I continue to stare at the figure in the distance. Why is he up there watching and not down below dancing with everyone else? It’s his party and yet, he’s off and alone. It reminds me of when I first met him alone in a study rather than being in the mix of another celebration.
The shadowed figure moves just enough that I can see him leaning against his cane. If I had any doubt it was Nick up there, now I don’t. I get this odd sense that the man is watching me. That he is seething as he realizes he has an uninvited guest, and he’s planning the appropriate punishment for breaking the rules of his Wonderland. I slowly move my body in a sensual dance, keeping my eyes locked on the man above. My movements are meant for his eyes only. I want to play my part in this game between us.
He left us unfinished, and now I’m here.
I want him to watch and to fantasize about what more I can do with this body. He didn’t think I was ready when he first met me, but I’ll prove him wrong.
But then reality sets in, and I know there is no way that Nick is noticing me in a crowd of hundreds with flashing lights all round us. The arrogant thought is squashed as I refocus my attention on living in the moment.
For tonight… I’m a Morelli. I’m exclusive. I’m wanted. I’m here.
Even if I want to stop dancing, I can’t. We have so many people around us, that just their bodies knocking up next to mine, force me to move like waves in a sea. There are so many people touching me from every angle that it takes me several moments to notice that a hand on my upper arm is not letting go.
I try to yank my arm away from a man wearing nothing but black, but his grip tightens more. I know that public sex is welcomed in Wonderland, but I’m not going to allow some stranger to simply assault me because he feels he has the freedom to.
But then I realize something is different. This isn’t sexual. Seeing how his eyes narrow in on me, I instantly recognize him and know he’s not some basic partygoer trying to hit on me. Maxim. The same man who hunted me down the night of the Morelli party.
I frantically search for Sasha who is now a few bodies away, completely unaware. The crowd is thick, and Maxim is pulling me further and further away from her. I don’t even waste my breath by trying to scream because there is no way anyone will hear me above the music. It truly is the perfect setting for an abduction.
I lose my footing as the man tugs harder, but his grip holds me up, and now I’m nearly being dragged away. Panic sets in but the compliant people-pleaser in me doesn’t want to make a scene in the middle of Wonderland. I don’t want to start fighting the man off and draw attention my way, but the absurdity of that thought is hitting me as I get further and further away from Sasha who is blissfully dancing with her eyes closed and her arms flailing in the air.
Maxim’s fingers are digging into my arm, and the bruising pain is enough for me to begin to struggle. With my free hand, I swing at his face and make contact. Though my fist hits his jaw, the man is unfazed. It’s almost as if he’s been beat his entire life in preparation for this day. Who am I but a small fist compared to much larger ones he’s used to. But regardless, I have to do something. I don’t know his plan or why he’s taking me with him. I hit again and do my best to pull away.
