Chapter 4
CHAPTER FOUR
AURELIA
Grabbing hold of Dalek’s hands, I squeezed them tight within mine. “Congratulations. You’ve just taken your first step toward taking back control of your life. You admitted the problem, and you’ve asked for a solution to move forward on a path you choose.”
“I’ll admit, I’ve had difficulty being in your presence and keeping a professional demeanor. Everything about you calls on my baser instincts. Similar to you, I don’t give up control easily. My only exception is for the right man who can send my body soaring.”
It was hard for me to come clean, but I needed him to know things about me that we’ve yet to discuss.
“I meant it when I said you made my body sore and climax. You’re the first person to give me that.
I usually rely on my own fingers or toys to get a small thrill, yet you made me forget where I was at and had fireworks going off in my mind. ”
Realization dawned in his face. “I wanted to mark you so badly, fill you up with my seed that I forgot all about protection for both of us.”
I shook my head. “No worries. I wanted you to fill me up, to see what it was like to be with you. We should be fine, since I take the shot regularly. I’m not due for another few weeks, so we should be fine.”
He lifted me into his lap and held me against one shoulder. “You’ve really never come by anyone else?”
I shook my head.
“Why? How?”
To my surprise, I found myself relaxing in his arms. “I know how I look and seem to attract men’s attention. They think they can say a few kind words, buy me a drink, and I’ll put out for them. There have been many a nights I’ve been roughed up for refusing their advances, being called a tease.”
Dalek’s hold on me tightened.
“I learned to avoid their games quickly. I only dated a couple of men. They started off nice, but once they got me in bed, they tried to dominate me not only there but also in reality. I was cut off from my friends. They tried to track my every movement. They wanted to control who I was as a person, until I told them to leave me alone.” Glancing into his eyes, I admitted, “I was nothing more than a challenge. So I closed myself off to everyone, including you at first.”
He smiled. “And yet here we sit.”
Nodding, I agreed. “Yes. You wore me down. I could sense you liked me challenging you in your daily life. Am I right that you only insist on full control in the sensual sense?”
Leaning forward, he kissed me lightly on the mouth. “You are both wise and observant. I feel so out of control in my life that I need that one element where I call the shots.”
“Whereas I must have full control over my daily plans, but want someone else to guide my sensual journey,” I admitted.
“We complement one another,” we found ourselves saying at the same time.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, enjoying our embrace for several moments, when a realization struck me.
“I’m enjoying this time together and would like to see where things lead—”
My words were interrupted when he pulled back with a quizzical look on his face. “Why do I feel there’s a huge ‘but’ coming?”
I placed my hand over his heart and shook my head. “It’s something you said earlier about your nightmares getting worse. When did you start seeing ghostly visions of your mother?”
“They started a few days ago. It feels like I’m still wrapped up in my nightmares, but at the same time, I feel I’m not fully asleep, where my mind is still able to question things. It feels disorienting.”
I noted his heartbeat beneath my hand was calm as he continued. “I’ve tried to reach over and turn on the light at the side of my bed, but the apparition tells me not to. When I question anything. I’m told to shut up and obey the promise I made.”
His breathing began to increase as a panic attack loomed, so I tried to refocus his mind. “You said the voices aren’t coming from spirit’s mouth?”
He shook his head. “That’s the part that puzzles me.
It feels like it’s coming from behind me.
I’ve picked up the pillows, trying to find the source of the voice, but nothings there.
How is that possible? I feel like I’m being forced into following my mother’s promise whether I’m a willing participant or not. ”
Out of curiosity, I wondered, “Is there any place you’ve slept, caught a nap, or just relaxed, where you haven’t had these issues?”
Dalek was deep in thought when his discarded phone buzzed on the coffee table. The screen revealed it was his secretary, Ms. Yanovich, calling.
I crawled off his lap and was about to move across the room, but his hand wrapped around my wrist, pulling me back down beside him.
“Yes, I know I’m due to go into some meetings soon. My current appointment is going over, so please give my regards and ask to reschedule at their earliest convenience.”
I could hear his secretary trying to argue, but he wouldn’t budge. “Either do it, or I’ll find someone else who can handle your job. Do I make myself clear?”
Dalek set his phone down hard, before reaching up and pinching the bridge of his nose.
“We can always call it a day and pick up where we left off tomorrow.”
He pulled my hand up toward his mouth, where he began peppering my knuckles with kisses. “The meetings were mere formality, going over the monthly numbers, nothing more. They’ve already sent me the information via email. The visit was just to review them in person.”
“We’ve had a bit of a breakthrough today, one I’m not quite ready to let go of.
” He smiled and shook his head as he glanced into my eyes.
“There’s just something about you, Aurelia that makes me want to be a better man.
I feel…” He struggled to find his words, but I waited on the edge of my seat, wondering what he had to say.
“My heart feels weird, no longer hardened, like something is growing inside it.”
I couldn’t help but smile as I scooted closer to him, reaching up to kiss him on the corner of his mouth. “That strange feeling is love, and I sense it, too.”
I playfully slapped at his chest. “You never did answer my question.”
“Which one was that, darling?” I liked the endearment from his lips.
“Is there any place you’ve slept in this castle that doesn’t cause you to have nightmares?”
At first he shook his head, but then he nodded.
“I’ve been so exhausted from the lack of a proper sleep that I’ve found myself occasionally napping on the sofa here in my office, on a lounge chair out in the courtyard by the pool, and a couple of times in my father’s study when I’ve gone in there looking for papers or to peruse one of his favorite books. ”
The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end. If his nightmares controlled him, then they would be occurring no matter where he slept, not limited to just his quarters.
Placing my hand on his arm, I squeezed it reassuringly. “May I see your quarters where you usually sleep?”
“But of course. Maybe our next physical encounter can be in my bedroom.” He raised his eyebrows and wiggled them in a knowing gesture.
When we left the office, I was surprised he placed his hand on my lower back to guide me. I figured I’d get a glaring look from his secretary. Thankfully, she wasn’t at her desk.
He guided me up two flights of stairs and toward one wing of the palace. “Let me take you through the original doorway to my suite, the way the room is intended to be seen. Usually I just pop through the door where the guard is standing, which is a direct path to where I sleep.”
Dalek’s office was impressive, but his private room, or should I say rooms, left me speechless. He had multiple doors leading to his quarters, though only one door remained unlocked, with a guard posted by it at all times.
After he used the key to open the grand double-door entrance, I stepped into a hallway decorated with the finest art and mirrors and entered into an open seating area.
The formal greeting area was decorated with luxurious leather couches and decorative lights all around the room.
Off to the side was a large dining or conference table complete with a chandelier hanging above it, casting it in a soft glow.
A bar was off to the side, completely stocked with various liquors, wines, and even a wine chiller.
Dalek guided me over to the right side where we stepped through a short hallway and into his nightly chambers.
The bed was massive, dominating most of the room.
There was a fair distance between it and the bathroom and closet.
To say it was a closet was an insult; it looked like a man’s warehouse full of dress attire, uniforms, and a few easy-going items.
His phone rang. “I have to take this, but feel free to look around my room. I’ll be out in the living area.” He kissed me softly on the cheek before retreating.
I wasted no time, examining his closet, looking for what I didn’t know, until I discovered some saw dust at the foot of his closet and an empty panel behind it. I searched for a lever or button, but couldn’t find how to get it open.
After a few minutes, I gave up and walked into his bathroom, which was bigger than my whole apartment.
It was decorated in the finest ivory marble with glints of gold and black running through it.
A long double vanity with two sinks dominated one side of the room, while the other had a shower big enough to fit five or six people, along with a sunken tub that looked more the size of a hot tub complete with jets.
Surely, there couldn’t be anything of concern in here. But that’s when I noted a piece of gilded metal on the side of the floor-to-ceiling decorative mirror didn’t match the pattern of its twin on the opposite side.
Reaching out, I twisted it and pushed, causing the mirror to swing open. It hid a pathway behind it, to where I didn’t know, and I didn’t have time to explore.
I was in the process of closing the door when Dalek startled me. “You’ve found one of my escape routes.”
“What?” Was the only word that come to mind.
“The King’s palace, along with this one, has dozens of secret tunnels throughout that lead to one place or another.
It helps us traverse the distance in shorter times and also allows us a means of escape if we ever feel threatened.
The mirror is one of several throughout my quarters.
Only the royal guards and the royal family are privy to them. ”
He held out his hand, and I walked over, taking it as he shuffled us along to his bed.
I’d seen a king-sized bed before, but this one must have been commissioned for him.
It was huge. Letting out a breath of disgust, he confessed, “This is where everything happens. The bed is comfortable, the room is quaint, but I’m at the point I fear going to sleep. ”
Just then his phone rang again, causing him to leave as I took a closer look. I looked up at the ceiling line, at each wall and crevice, to see if I could spot a camera or projector that could cause an apparition to appear, but there was nothing.
I could see which side was his, based on the novel he was currently reading and a water carafe that was present. I sniffed the water to see if I could detect any hint of herbs or medication that could cause a hallucination. Nothing.
Lifting all the pillows, I searched for any form of speaker that might’ve been placed just under the sheet.
Again, there was nothing. So I got up on the bed and pretended to be him, lying down for slumber.
That’s when I noticed a tiny reflection coming off the decorative carving at the top of his headboard. A projector.
Dalek’s voice grew closer as he was finishing up his call.
I jumped out of bed and straightened things up and nearly tripped on a wire.
I grabbed hold of it and followed its path.
It seemed to connect a pressure plate located between the mattress and the box spring.
I traced the wires on the plate to the underside of the headboard, where two speakers spaced about a foot apart were connected on the back.
Between them was a countdown clock set at an hour to play on loop whatever was recorded.
Someone was intentionally trying to either drive him mad or brainwash him to do their bidding. Thankfully, Dalek had a good heart and was fighting with everything he had in him, but I could tell the toll it was taking on him. I needed to find a way to intervene without him knowing.
“Have you seen enough of my living quarters to make you want to spend the night sometime soon?” Dalek joked as he entered.
Walking over to him, I wrapped my arms around his neck and got up on my tiptoes to kiss him. “I’d be honored to spend more time with you. But first, let’s get your nightmares under control. I’d like to try something new.”
He deepened the kiss, leaving me breathless. “You know I’m desperate for sleep, so I’m willing to try anything.”
“Let’s go down to your office and discuss.” I feared his entire suite, or at least the bedroom, might be bugged.