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He doesn't seem like he's going to let me go unless I agree.
Then I nod. He's satisfied with that and lets me go, leaving me to gasp softly in front of him.
"You nearly made my heart give out," I growl, keeping my voice down, though why I'm protecting him I have no idea. I'd been expecting him to be in his room, naked on his bed, waiting for me to do… whatever with him.
Instead, here he is, fully dressed, in a black wool coat, over a sharp dark suit. He hands me a navy cloak.
"Put this on, it gets cold out here at night."
I stare at the offered clothing, unsure of what to say.
His eyes narrow.
"You are coming with me,now." He wraps the cloak around my shoulders, fastening it at my neck. His thumb brushes my pulse, for a split second, then his hand wraps around my wrist and he pulls, tugging me along after him.
I'm forced to go, although part of me wonders what he'd do if I dug my heels in and hollered. There's something different about him now, an energy I haven't felt before. I hate to admit it, I'm kind of curious. At least enough to see this through.
"Wait," he pauses, and then turns on me, hands going to my waist. My lungs expand, the intake of breath sharp and shrill as he grabs me, hands running up to my ribs, and back down again.He's—
"There it is," he says, fishing my phone from my pocket. He glances at the screen, turning off, before setting it on top of the nearest statue, a black marble vase. My mouth drops open. What is he even thinking? "You can't be tracked where we're going. Come."
My heartbeat speeds up, this cloak and dagger (almost literally, since I'm in a cloak), makes me follow him if for any reason because I need to know what he has planned.
This Benedict is a different man from the one I've known so far. He's barely flirted with me at all, hasn't even looked at me like he wants to devour me. It has me off kilter to the point that I tag after him without a question. In my gut I know that I'll find out in due time, and something is telling me that Imustknow. Everything hinges on it. I don't know why my guts are screaming it at me, but I can't do anything else but listen.
He squires me down the stairs and out a side door. We're in a rose garden, with gravel paths. The moon is red and hangs heavy over the world, a bold eye witnessing our quiet escape.
"You'll tell me where we're going eventually—" My words cut off in a gasp as a root snags my ankle.
Benedict turns, and grabs me as I tumble, holding me tight, inches from the hard, sharp-stone ground. I breathe harshly through my mouth and he sets me back on my feet, steady and stable, looking me in the eye.
"Alright?" He asks. A tremble rolls through my body.
"I'd feel better knowing what's going on," I say, hoping to get to the bottom of this particular mystery adventure without needingto go anywhere with him.
He's got danger spelled out in his name, looping tight around the letters like a snake coiled and ready to strike.
He gives me a flat look.
"You know better than to ask, don't you?" He turns away, although he keeps a firm grip on my arm this time. I'm not sure whether it's to stop me from running or falling. I keep pace with him as we start to walk downhill. It's a long way to the edge of the property which is where I think we're heading, and even though the night is cold just like he promised, I'm working up a sweat, nervous and exertion-wise.
He stops short and I bump into him, tugging me to the right, through a break in the bushes and hedgerow.
"Here," he murmurs, "watch your step."
We're at the edge of a steep incline, a curving, curling set of wooden stairs that pitch right down to a ravine waiting for us. It's only lit up because of the moon overhead, and the height is break-takingly horrifying. The stairs look like they're older than the house, and not fit to carry either of us.
"Benedict," I say, in warning, and I can barely make out the way he raises an eyebrow at me.
"Bold, are you?"
"Since you're basically kidnapping me—"
"Blackmailing," he says in a practical tone, with little shame in his words. "And I'd like to say we're going on an adventure together."
"This isnotan adventure," I hiss at him but he ignores me and starts down the stairs. God above, I'm stupid. I should run back to the house. But something is going on here that I need to know the answer to. He's set a puzzle in front of me that I have to solve.
So I follow in his footsteps, like an idiot, each step promising to send me plunging into the depths of the ravine below.
