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“What’s down there?” I whispered.

The darkness seemed to go on and on forever. Never stopping. Never relenting. I could feel phantom tendrils snaking around my wrists and ankles, holding me captive.

Aiden, once again ignoring me, slowly descended into the darkness. I remained frozen on the top step, my body irrationally crying out when his warmth left me.

“Are you coming?” he asked, unable to mask his irritation.

“What’s down there?” I repeated stoutly. After everything I had seen with Kelly, everything I had experienced with these men, the last thing I was ever going to do was travel down a dark, never-ending staircase with a man who hated me. I had better survival instincts than that.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I waited impatiently for an answer. My foot tapped with increasing speed as the seconds dragged on and Aiden continued to stare at me, a quirk to his brow.

“Don’t trust me?” he asked. Like the asshole he was, he didn’t sound upset, only amused. That damn brow lifted higher, nearly touching his hairline, when I remained silent.

“Not as far as I can throw you,” I admitted unashamedly. He chuckled.

“Don’t you want the answers, Bianaca?” He practically purred my name, his voice smooth bourbon. “I’m offering them to you.”

Once more, he extended that hand of his. This time, however, I didn’t take it. Couldn’t. It wasn’t just fear and distrust, but some innate voice within me warning me against it. I knew that the second I followed him, he would lead me off a cliff. No, I had to play this game differently if I was going to emerge victorious.

Following a cruel, sadistic boy into a dark basement was not a move I could afford to make.

Shaking my head, I backed up one step. Then another. And then another.

Aiden watched my retreat with a strange combination of amusement and wariness. His pink lips pursed, but he allowed me to leave.

“I thought you wanted answers,” he said harshly.

“I want a lot of things,” I whispered. He prowled after me, stopping when his lean, muscular body was towering over my own. My back touched the wood of the shack, but I did not break eye contact. “And I think you want things, too. Things that you aren’t willing to admit to anyone, let alone yourself.”

When his brow furrowed, genuine confusion contorting his face, I realized I was closer to the mark than I had initially believed.

“I don’t need you to jump in and save me,” I continued raggedly. “I don’t need you to manipulate me with this whole hero act, Aiden.”

At that, his smirk returned once more. “Who said I was manipulating you? Maybe I actually am the hero.” That smirk grew into a brilliant grin, one that spread across his entire face and made the skin around his eyes crinkle. “Have you ever thought of that? I may not be the stereotypical Prince Charming, but what if I’m the hero in this scenario, not the bad guy?”

He took another step closer, his leg going between my own. I hated how my heart picked up speed, hammering erratically beneath my ribcage. It was seconds away from breaking free entirely.

“Prove it. Prove to me that you can be a hero, not the bad guy.”

“I stopped you from hurting yourself, didn’t I?” he whispered. His hand reached out to push a strand of blond hair behind my ear, and I couldn’t help but shiver delicately. “I didn’t like seeing you hurt, and I did something about it. Doesn’t that make me a hero?”

He sounded so confused just then that I wanted to comfort him. To tell him he was a hero, not a villain.

But the words got stuck in my throat.

“I think…” I began softly, pushing past him. He moved away easily, hand still extended as if he wanted to brush another tress behind my ear. “I think you need to figure that out for yourself.”

Before he could respond, I hurried out the door. I didn’t know how to deal with Aiden, but one thing was certain.

I wanted to.

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