CHAPTER EIGHT #3
I hated how easily he could unsettle me, how he seemed to delight in my discomfort. God, he was so loathsome.
I straightened my spine, determined not to let him see how his words affected me. “I came to see the horse Matteo got me, not to be harassed by you.”
Adrian chuckled, the sound dark and rich.
“Harassment? Is that what we’re calling conversation now?
” He reached past me to stroke Stella’s muzzle, his arm nearly brushing mine.
“My brother doesn’t know the first thing about you, does he?
Buying you a horse when you’ve never ridden one in your life. ”
My eyes widened. “How did you—"
“Your posture, your hesitation. The way you approached her.” His gaze traveled over me, assessing. “You’re afraid of them.”
“I’m not afraid,” I said automatically, though it wasn’t entirely true. These animals were beautiful but intimidating in their size and power. “I’m just... inexperienced.”
“Inexperienced,” he repeated, testing the word like it amused him. “Yes, I imagine that applies to many areas of your life, doesn’t it, Serafina?”
The way he said my name sent an unwelcome shiver down my spine. I crossed my arms over my chest, a futile barrier between us. “That’s none of your business.”
“No?” His voice dropped lower, becoming a dangerous purr. “Tell me, has my brother kissed you the way I have?”
My heart hammered against my ribs. I took a step back, hands in front of me as if to ward him off. The evil in my life.
“Don’t,” I warned, my voice barely a whisper. What if Mason could hear us? “That was a mistake.”
“Was it?” Adrian pushed off the stall and moved toward me with the fluid grace of a predator. Damn him. “You didn’t seem to think so at the time. In fact, I distinctly remember a little whimper—”
“Stop it,” I hissed, my hands trembling. My whole body was hyperaware of his presence, his words… the memories of him. “What happened that night was wrong and it won’t happen again. It will never happen again.”
Why did I stupidly sound like I was trying to convince myself more than him?
Adrian caught my wrist, his touch sending an electric current up my arm. His thumb traced slow circles against my pulse point, which betrayed me by quickening beneath his touch.
“Your mouth says one thing,” he purred. “But your body says something else.”
I tried to pull my hand away, but his hold tightened. Adrian tugged me closer, our chests almost touching and my breath stuttered. My mouth opened, but I couldn’t find any word to reprimand him. My voice betrayed me and I started to find it hard to breathe again.
His presence.
His words echoing in my ears.
It was all so suffocating.
Adrian suddenly released my wrist and stepped back, his eyes still locked on mine. My chest heaved with shallow breaths. The intensity of his gaze made me feel like I was being trapped under water for too long, my lungs burning for oxygen.
“You need to learn how to breathe, Princess.” I waited for it, but there was no mockery in his voice this time.
He turned away and moved toward the massive black stallion, Azrael. With practiced ease, he opened the stall door and led the horse out.
The animal was enormous up close, with muscles rippling beneath its gleaming coat. Adrian ran his hand along its neck, murmuring something too low for me to hear.
Before I could collect my thoughts, Adrian moved with lightning speed. His hands gripped my waist, and suddenly I was airborne.
“What—” The word dissolved into a terrified yelp as Adrian hoisted me onto Azrael’s back. I plopped down on the saddle.
The stallion shifted beneath me, and panic clawed up my throat. No, no, no.
Absolute-fucking-not.
I was too high, too unsteady, and I didn’t know what to hold on to. “Let me down!” I yelped, clutching desperately at the horse’s mane.
“Stop squirming,” Adrian commanded, his voice firm. In one fluid motion, he swung himself up behind me, his chest pressing against my back as his arms came around me to take the reins.
“I want to get down,” I insisted, my voice trembling with fear and hysteria. “Now.”
His laugh was warm against my ear, sending a tingle down my spine.
Before I could protest further, he nudged the horse forward. We moved out of the stable into the bright sunlight. I blinked, suddenly feeling disoriented from being up high on the horse and the sun momentarily blinding me.
“Adrian, please,” I tried again, hating the pleading note in my voice. God, why was he doing this to me? “I’ve never done this before. I don’t know how to ride. I can’t—”
His lips brushed against my ear as he leaned forward. “Relax and feel,” he whispered, his voice dropping to a hypnotic murmur. “Feel the horse. Feel the wind. Stop thinking so hard and just feel, Serafina.”
With a gentle nudge, Azrael began to trot, then canter. The rhythm was jarring, terrifying.
“You’re insane. You’re absolutely insane,” I rambled, clutching at the saddle, my knuckles white with fear. “I hate you. I hate you. I hate you.”
We picked up speed across the lawn, moving faster toward the woods that surrounded the estate.
“I’m going to fall!” I gasped, my entire body rigid with fear.
“You won’t.” Adrian’s voice was steady, certain. “Trust your body.”
I closed my eyes tight, not believing his words because I was absolutely certain I would fall.
“Open your eyes,” Adrian commanded, his arm tightening around me. “Trust the horse.”
No. NO! What the hell was he talking about? How was I supposed to trust an animal I didn’t even know?
Adrian fucking Salvatore was going kill me.
Maybe that was his plan all along.
He was a goddamn psychopath.
“Serafina.” My name rolled off his tongue like sweet molasses. “Trust me. Open your eyes and look. Feel. Breathe.”
There was something in his voice that made me obey, an undeniable authority that seemed to dominate my common sense. I forced my eyes open just as we reached the edge of the woods. Azrael’s stride lengthened, and suddenly we were flying, racing between the trees.
Terror gripped me. My stomach lurched.
The wind rushed past, cool against my heated skin, whipping my hair back from my face.
The horse’s powerful muscles moved beneath me, each stride eating up the ground. Adrian guided us into the woods and the world blurred around me. Dappled sunlight, flashes of green, the earthy scent of moss and leaves.
Behind me, Adrian was steady and sure, confident. He was in total control of Azrael and us. His heat emanating from his body spread through mine and there was something comforting about it, almost like it was reminding me that I was alive and not on the cusp of death.
Something shifted inside.
The initial panic began to ebb as we galloped deeper into the forest. The rhythmic movement of the horse beneath me no longer felt jarring but instead became almost… hypnotic.
My white-knuckled grip on the saddle loosened slightly.
“That’s it,” Adrian murmured, his warm lips brushing against my ear. “Let go.”
I couldn’t tell if he meant my rigid, frightened posture or something else, something deeper. The meaning of his words hung between us as I remained speechless.
My shoulders dropped.
My breathing steadied.
My spine loosened.
My heart slowed.
The wispy breeze caressed my face, cooling the heat of fear that had flushed my cheeks just moments before.
I’m not going to die. Not today.
As we curved around a massive oak tree, I found myself instinctively leaning into the turn, my body beginning to move in harmony with Azrael’s powerful stride.
My stomach fluttered with what felt dangerously close to excitement.
“Look ahead,” Adrian commanded.
We burst into another clearing, this one carpeted with wildflowers. Holy shit.
For a moment, everything was just golden light and green-scented air and the powerful animal beneath us. My eyes tried to take everything in, but I couldn’t. It was all so fast, so beautiful. It felt majestic.
Freeing.
A laugh—startled and genuine—escaped my lips before I could stop it.
“Do you feel it, Princess?” Adrian rasped, his breath feathering against my temple. “Freedom.”
He was so close, his body enveloping mine. And for the first time, I found myself leaning into it. Into him.
I wasn’t scared.
I wasn’t angry.
I was… curious. I wanted more of this feeling.
It was exhilarating and blissful serenity.
So this was what freedom felt like.
Freedom from expectations, the facades, the lies, the weight of everything that had been forced onto me.
Here, racing through the woods on the back of this magnificent creature, I tasted true freedom for the first time in my life.
I didn’t know how long we rode. Time seemed to lose meaning as we traversed the woods, occasionally breaking into clearings or following alongside bubbling streams.
The fear had completely dissipated, replaced by an intoxicating sense of release that made my blood sing. My heart thudded, adrenaline coursing through my body, filling my veins with warmth or haziness. It was intoxicating.
Eventually, Adrian guided us back toward the estate, the stallion’s pace slowing to a canter and then a trot as we emerged from the woods. The stable came into view, and I felt an unexpected pang of disappointment that I quickly shove away.
Azrael slowed into a stop. Adrian dismounted first and I had no choice but to lean down to him so he could pull me off the horse.
As he lowered me to the ground, my body slid against him.
For one suspended moment, our bodies aligned, and we fit together like two puzzle pieces.
The firm planes of his torso pressed into my soft curves, my body moving in a way to fit into him.
An unexpected jolt of electricity zapped through my body and my skin tingled with hyperawareness.
As Adrian set me down, my feet were unsteady on the ground and my muscles felt like jello. Azrarel let out a neigh and stomped once, not aggressively. Almost like he was just as disappointed that our run had come to an end.
The stallion pushed his muzzle against my back and a giggle escaped past my lips, entirely childish and gleeful.
“Why did you do that?” I asked, finally finding the courage to ask him that question.
Adrian’s gaze bore into me. “Because you looked like you needed it.”
Thud.
“How do you know what I need?”
“You hide it pretty well, but one only needs to look closely to see it.” His arm tightened around my waist and that was when I realized that he was still holding me.
We were still pressed against each other.
As if he had realized the same thing at the same time, he let go.
“The starry, lost look in your eyes, Princess.”
Princess… oh.
He had called me that before, but never like this. Never in this tone.
Soft. Warm. Decadently sinful.
Adrian saw more than I wanted him to see. I didn’t know how to feel about that.
But most importantly…
“Why are you being nice to me?” My brows furrowed with the question.
He let out a low chuckle, the vibration traveling all the way to my toes. “I’m not nice. This is for my benefit more than yours.”
“What are you benefiting from it?”
“Your time.” He leaned down. “Your attention.” His head moved closer. “The taste of your breath on my lips.”
Oh God…
My stomach fluttered.
My thoughts scattered.
“Selfishly, I can’t get enough of it,” he rasped.
His breath feathered against my lips. Warm. Eager. Tantalizing.
“I don’t want this,” I said, though I couldn’t even convince myself with my own words.
“Lies. What else?” The corner of his lips lifted with a tempting, dangerous half-smirk.
My stomach suddenly hollowed in realization, the earlier flutter replaced by coldness.
Adrian was reckless, careless and impulsive.
He had the freedom to do whatever he wanted, without consequences.
But I lacked the same freedom.
Every action I took had a repercussion.
“You shouldn’t be doing this,” I said in a weak attempt.
His smirk widened and it was almost maddening. “Yet, you are the one holding on to me. I’m not even touching you.”
His eyes flickered between my face and his arm, where I was holding onto his sleeve.
I hadn’t even realized I was doing so. When, how… I didn’t know.
My fingers released him and I pushed at his chest to force him back, finally finding the strength, the shame to do so.
I knew he was stronger than me, but he still allowed me to shove him back.
“You shouldn’t get so close to me. It’s inappropriate.
If your brother finds out, or my father… I would be in trouble.”
His blue eyes flickered with something unreadable. His hand came up and he clasped my chin between his fingers, holding my gaze. “You are already in trouble.”
“What do you mean?”
“You have the attention of The Reaper and his prey never escapes.”
“I am the prey?”
Stop it. Stop responding. Pull away. Walk away. Stop indulging in this madness, his madness.
“My prey,” he purred.
“But I’m not yours,” I breathed.
This time, my words seemed to finally get through him. It was so sudden, I reeled from the change. A shadow fell on his face, his expression clouding.
“No,” he agreed, his eyes darkening. He let go of my chin and fully pulled away. Putting distance between us. “You belong to my brother. The perfect Matteo. The heir.”
There was something in his tone, a sneer, a kind of bitterness that went beyond what I assumed was sibling rivalry.
I studied Adrian’s expression, trying to decipher the layers beneath his arrogant, mocking exterior. The more I looked at him, the more I saw something I didn’t before.
He hated Matteo.
“Why do you hate your brother?” I asked before I could stop myself.
Adrian’s face hardened, his stormy blue eyes turning almost black with fury. “You’re walking right into fire, Princess.” His chest rumbled with a low growl. “You don’t know anything about my relationship with Matteo. And he knows nothing about you.”
“And you think you know me?”
“I know your lips taste like vanilla and fear,” he continued mercilessly, his gaze dropping to my mouth. “And I know that whimper you made wasn’t entirely from protest. And I know, whether you like to deny it, that if I were to kiss you again, you’d let me.”
I opened my mouth to protest but his sardonic, humorless chuckle cut me off.
“Go ahead. Tell me more lies, Serafina,” he mocked.
My jaw snapped shut and I shot him a glare.
There he was.
The Adrian I was more familiar with.
The one with ruthless words and taunting laughs.
Whoever I glimpsed earlier… on the back of Azrael as we rode through the woods, he had been a stranger.
My fist clenched at my sides. “You know what, I think this conversation ends here. Goodbye, Mr. Salvatore.”
I stomped past him, leaving him and those beautiful creatures behind. Adrian had given me a taste of freedom for a moment before he had reminded me that I belonged in a gilded cage.
His voice called out behind my retreating back. “See you again, Ms. Morelli.”
See you never, asshole.