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I don’t actually want to see him. But I do want the comfort of human contact. I want to hear another person’s voice, smell another person’s scent. And if I don’t have a choice in who I get to see, then I’ll settle for him.
Except he’s not interested in comforting me. Since bringing me back a bunch of my stuff and a handful of sex toys (cringe), he seems to think that he has handled things. Like,la-di-freaking-da, I’ll now be totally content with my knitting basket and my crossword puzzles.Thanks a lot, Uri Claus.
To be fair, those things help for the first twelve hours. I knit a full-sized scarf and tear through half a dozen crossword puzzles. But now, every time I close my eyes, I see either a swirling pattern of wool or a black and white interweaving maze.
#8 Across, six letters:A foolish woman who thinks that sharing a couple of dinners with a man means that she knows him.
I think we all know the answer to that one.
When I finally hear the bolt unlatch, I’m in the bathroom flossing my teeth. Not because I’m about to sleep or anything. Just because it’s something to do and I’ve exhausted all my other options.
I drop the floss mid-swipe and rush into the room.
But it’s not Uri who walks in.
It’s a petite maid with dirty blonde hair pulled back so tight I can almost see her scalp. She’s carrying a tray of food and, despite the mouthwatering scent emanating from underneath the silver cloche, my heart sinks with disappointment.
“Who are you?”
It comes out sounding a lot harsher than I intended. She stops short halfway to the kitchen. “I’m Svetlana, ma’am.”
My gaze flickers towards the door. It’s closed but I saw her walk in. She certainly didn’t lock it behind her.
This is the opportunity I’ve been waiting for!
“Oh. Right. You could just set that in the kitchen. Thanks.”
Svetlana nods and disappears around the corner without the slightest bit of suspicion. I don’t waste any time racing for the door. I’m vaguely aware that, even if I manage to clear the basement, I’ll have security cameras and security guards to deal with. Probably, like, a moat filled with hungry alligators and sharks with laser beams on their forehead, too. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.
I pull the door open. It’s heavy and I’m weak, so it’s a struggle—but when it finally opens, I get one glorious glimpse of freedom…
Before I find myself face-to-face with a minotaur.
Well, not literally a minotaur. But he might as well be. He’s a huge, hulking security guard, big enough to block the entire staircase.
“Um—hi.”
His face does not change. “Good evening, ma’am.”
What’s with the “ma’am” business?
“How’re you doing?”
Still stone-faced. “Well.”
“So, yeah, your, um, boss told me that I could head upstairs whenever and grab a book from the library.” I don’t know if he even has a library but let’s face it, any house as big as this one is bound to have a library, right? “So if you wouldn’t mind letting me—”
“Write down the book you want and I’ll get it for you.”
I narrow my eyes. “I don’t have a book in mind. I want to browse. Your boss said he didn’t have a problem with it.”
His nose twitches. It’s the most expressive thing he’s done yet. “Actually, my boss told me to stay alert because you would undoubtedly try and escape the moment the maid was inside.”
I grit my teeth and dig my heels in. “Let me pass!”
“No. Sorry.”
“You’re an ass. Just like your boss.”
