15. Maya
15
MAYA
M y head throbs as consciousness creeps back. Silk sheets slide against my skin as I shift, trying to piece together fragmented memories. The last clear image... Adrian across the table, pouring wine into my glass.
A wave of dizziness hits as I push myself up. This isn’t my bedroom. Velvet curtains block most of the light, but I make out elegant furnishings in deep burgundy and chocolate tones. The mattress beneath me feels impossibly plush. And yet, sitting on the nightstand are my personal hygiene items, including my shampoo, perfume, and body lotion.
“What the hell?” The words catch roughly in my throat.
I swing my legs over the side of the bed, my bare feet sinking into the thick carpet. Everything whirls, and I brace myself against the mattress, waiting for stillness to return. I’m still in my clothes from lunch, though my shoes are missing.
The door opens with a soft click. Adrian steps into the room, impeccably dressed in his tailored shirt and vest. He carries a glass of water.
“Good evening, little critic.” His smooth voice sends ice down my spine. “I trust you slept well?”
“What did you do to me?” The words slur slightly. My tongue feels thick.
“Just helped you relax.” He approaches with fluid grace. “You seemed so tense at lunch.”
I try to stand, but my legs buckle. Adrian catches me before I hit the floor, one arm wrapping around my waist. The familiar scent of chocolate and spice fills my nose.
“Easy now.” His breath tickles my ear. “The sedative will take a few more hours to fully wear off.”
“Sedative?” Horror crashes through the fog in my brain. “You drugged me?”
“I did what was necessary.” He guides me back to sit on the bed. “We have much to discuss, Maya. About what you discovered and about what we could become together.”
“You’re insane.” I press back against the headboard, trying to put distance between us. “Completely out of your mind. My best friend was expecting me tonight. She’ll call the cops!”
Adrian smirks. “Don’t worry, I’ve handled that.”
The mattress sinks beneath Adrian’s weight, and my heart threatens to break free from my chest. That powerful energy radiates from him, calling for something warped inside me.
“What do you mean, you’ve handled it?” My stomach drops, mind races to the worst possibilities. “If you’ve hurt her?—”
“Relax.” Adrian pulls out my phone from his jacket, showing me the text thread. “I simply sent her a message saying you weren’t feeling well. Food poisoning, apparently. She was quite understanding.”
I snatch the phone, scanning the messages with trembling fingers. There it is—a perfectly casual exchange about me feeling sick and needing to raincheck. Amelia’s concerned response, offering to bring soup. My supposed decline of her offer. All so normal, so innocent.
“And how did you get my stuff from my apartment?” I demand.
He smirks but doesn’t answer me. Clearly, he broke into my place and stole them like the psychopath he is.
“You really are insane,” I murmur as Adrian retrieves my phone from me and slips it into his jacket pocket.
“Am I?” His fingers trace along my ankle, sending sparks of unwanted pleasure up my leg. “Or do I simply see what you’re trying hard to deny?”
“Stop.” The word comes out breathy. “I ran away for a reason. You kill people, Adrian. You put their blood in your chocolates.”
“And you tasted them.” His hand slides higher, mapping the curve of my calf. “You knew something was different, wrong. Yet you came back for more.”
Heat floods my cheeks because he’s right. Even after discovering his horrible secret, part of me craved the intensity of him.
“That’s not... I didn’t...”
“You ran because you were scared of yourself.” Adrian draws closer, his cologne mixing with the ever-present scent of chocolate. “Scared of how much you enjoyed it. How much you wanted more.”
My breath stutters as his fingers dance along my thigh. I should push him away. Should scream. Instead, I arch into his touch, that part of me purring with satisfaction.
I wrench away from his touch, forcing my drugged limbs to cooperate. “Get your hands off me.”
My palm connects with his chest as I shove him back. The movement sends another wave of dizziness through me, but anger burns through the fog.
“Let me go, Adrian. Right now.” I press myself against the headboard, keeping as much distance between us as possible. “You can’t just kidnap people because they discover your sick hobby.”
His eyes darken, but that infuriating smile remains. “I can’t let you leave, Maya. Not when we’re so close to understanding each other.”
“Understanding?” I bark out a laugh. “You drugged my wine and locked me up. There’s nothing to understand except that you’re a murderer and a psychopath.”
I scan the room for anything I could use as a weapon. The water glass sits on the nightstand, just within reach.
“I’m neither of those things.” He shifts closer despite my glare. “I’m an artist who sees a part of you that you try so hard to hide.”
“Stay back.” I grab the glass, holding it like a shield. “I mean it. I’ll scream. I’ll break this and cut you. Whatever it takes.”
His hand shoots out, catching my wrist in an iron grip. The glass slips from my fingers, hitting the carpet with a muted thud.
“Let. Me. Go.” I punctuate each word with a struggle against his hold.
“You don’t really want that.” His other hand cups my face, thumb brushing my lower lip.
I bite down hard on his thumb. The metallic taste of blood fills my mouth as he jerks back with a curse.
“I said no.” Fear and fury strengthen my voice, making it ring with newfound power. “Whatever sick game you’re playing, I’m not participating. Let me out of here, or I swear I’ll find a way to destroy you.”
The chuckle that rumbles from Adrian’s chest sends chills down my spine. Before I can react, he lunges forward, his body pressing mine into the mattress. My arms flail as I try to strike him, but he catches both my wrists in one large hand.
“Get off me!” I buck against him, but his weight pins me down.
“Such fire.” His free hand produces metal cuffs from somewhere. The click of metal against my skin makes my stomach drop. “But you need to understand your place here.”
I twist and writhe as he fastens the other cuff, the chain between them looping through what must be a hook in the headboard. The metal bites into my skin as I yank against the restraints.
“I hate you.” Tears of frustration burn in my eyes. “You’re a monster.”
Adrian shifts his weight, straddling my hips. His hands bracket my face, forcing me to meet his dark gaze. It makes my head spin.
“A monster you crave.” His thumb strokes my cheeks, wiping away tears I didn’t realize had fallen. “One you’ll learn to embrace.”
I jerk my head away from his touch, the cuffs rattling as I struggle. “Never.”
Though I verbalize it, that sick part of me thrills at being under his control. Every inch of me responds to his proximity despite my mind screaming to fight.
His blood still coats my tongue, metallic and sharp, as Adrian’s lips crash against mine. The kiss steals my breath, his mouth demanding and fierce. I freeze. A shock floods my system at the realization that after everything we’ve done, the whole sordid tale… this is our first kiss.
His tongue traces the seam of my lips, seeking entrance. I try to resist, to keep my mouth closed, but a whimper escapes me as my lips part, allowing him to deepen the kiss.
The cuffs dig into my wrists as I arch up into him instinctively. His hands cup my face, thumbs stroking my cheeks as he devours my mouth. The gentleness of the touch contrasts with the bruising force of his kiss.
Heat floods through me, pure lust warring with fear and anger. I shouldn’t want this. Shouldn’t crave the way his tongue slides against mine, claiming every inch of my mouth.
When he finally breaks the kiss, we’re both panting. My lips feel swollen and tender. The taste of him lingers—blood and chocolate and sin.
Adrian reaches into his pocket and pulls out a single chocolate truffle, its surface gleaming in the dim light. My stomach churns as he holds it to my lips.
“Open.” His voice brooks no argument.
I clamp my mouth shut, turning my head away. “Fuck no.”
His fingers grip my jaw, forcing me to face him. “I said open your mouth, Maya. Don’t make me ask again.”
The pressure increases until my lips part. He places the chocolate on my tongue, his fingertips lingering against my bottom lip.
The moment it touches my tongue, I know what’s in it. That familiar salty-sweet taste mixed with rich dark chocolate. Heat floods my core even as disgust wars with longing. My cheeks burn as I realize how wet I get from tasting Adrian’s cum in his chocolate.
But there’s something else. Something stronger than before. My vision starts to blur around the edges as another wave of sedative hits my system.
“What...” My tongue feels heavy. “Why...”
“Shhh.” Adrian strokes my hair as blackness creeps in. “You need time to accept your new reality. When you wake up, we’ll have that Valentine’s date I promised you.”
I try to fight it, but consciousness slips away like water through my fingers. The last thing I feel is Adrian’s lips brushing my forehead as everything fades to black.