Chapter 10
Chapter
Ten
ARIANA
W hen the driver approaches the house, there’s no sign of the SUVs that were supposedly headed here, which seems odd. Where could they all be?
I act as though nothing is amiss and thank the mute driver for picking me up. I walk through the front door and listen until I hear him drive away, presumably to park the car wherever they go when they’re not in service, then I sneak back outside.
There are ways to access the outside from the inside of the manor, but I don’t have the layout memorized yet, so it will be easier to just make my way around the behemoth estate until I figure out where all the SUVs went.
I get lucky because there’s barely any moon tonight and fog hangs on the ground, so it’s easy for me to creep along the edge of the building. There’s only the odd sconce here and there around the manor, and even then, their flickering light seems to be absorbed by the night.
I walk for at least fifteen minutes, and just when I’m starting to think that my efforts are futile, I hear the crunch of tires on gravel. I jump behind a bush beside the manor and peek out.
A black SUV passes by on a thin path to my left that I didn’t notice since it’s so dark out. Once it’s out of sight, I listen, and when I hear nothing, I come out from behind the bush and keep walking toward where it was headed. Every sound makes me jump. I’m paranoid I’m going to find myself in a set of headlights.
My body grows tense as I round the corner of one of the turrets, but a quiet squeal falls from my lips when I spot SUVs parked off in the distance. I slowly make my way closer, careful to stay close to the dark stone of the manor. When I’m as close as I dare to go, I settle in behind greenery and watch.
A large door is open on the side of the manor, and low light shines from somewhere inside.
The sound of a vehicle door opening pierces the night, and I take note of all the SUVs until I see a woman with a black mask get out of the back seat of one of the cars and make her way toward the door. She’s wearing what I think is a costume, though that seems weird since it’s not even close to October. It looks as if maybe she’s supposed to be an angel because there are little white wings on her back when she passes through the door. But her costume is more like lingerie than an actual costume.
I’m not sure what to make of it, nor of the burly men on either side of the door standing guard. It’s obvious this is a private event, and that even if I did have the balls to sneak in and see what’s going on, I wouldn’t make it past those guys. And if they’re all wearing costumes, I’d stand out.
The two guys in question close the door and remain as sentries outside. I watch for a while longer, but no one else comes or goes, so I eventually return the way I came and go back in the manor through the front door.
I get lost trying to make it to the east wing, and I can’t help feeling watched. Every time I pass a painting, I assume it must be some long-lost Voss ancestor. If I believed in eerie, unexplained things, I’d swear they were watching me.
When I finally reach the long, arched hallway that leads to the east wing, I pause in front of the stained-glass picture of a wolf. It’s clearly no coincidence that this leads to Obsidian’s private area, and he has a wolf tattoo on his neck. It must have some meaning, but I don’t know what.
The day I arrived and met Asher in person, I noticed he had a bear tattoo on one of his hands. There’s more to these Voss brothers than meets the eye.
I continue on my way, staying in the middle of the hallway that leads to my room so I remain out of the shadows cast by the sconces on the walls. I’m not even sure why. It just feels safer somehow.
I get ready for bed, and once I’m finally tucked under the covers with the lights off, sleep is hard to find. My mind is preoccupied with what is happening at the manor tonight.
Why was the woman wearing a mask? Why was she dressed as a sexy angel?
Why are presumably rich people flying into the private airport to come here once a month?
Why does nobody in town know what’s going on?
Eventually, I drift off, but I’m no closer to the truth.
I don’t know what wakes me, but I snap into a sitting position.
It’s no longer fully dark outside, but it’s not fully morning either. The first signs of dawn make themselves known. Birds chirp outside the arched Gothic windows, and the smallest hint of daylight shines in the horizon.
When I glance around the room for some idea of what woke me from a dead sleep, something on the floor catches my eye. I frown and slide out of bed, crouching. It looks like a trail of… I run my fingers over it… sand.
What the hell?
Straightening, I follow the trail with my gaze and see that it leads to my closed bedroom door. I walk alongside it and open my door. It continues down the hall as far as I can see.
Equal parts intrigued and confused, I follow the trail until it leads to a door that goes outside. Glancing around then down at myself still in my underwear and oversized T-shirt that I wore to bed, I decide that since no one’s around, I’ll keep following the trail. It’s so early, and it’s Sunday, so I doubt anyone is wandering around outside.
I follow the sand some distance from the manor to where it looks like it stops dead in front of an ivy-covered stone wall, but as I draw nearer, I realize there’s actually an arched iron gate in the wall that’s also covered with ivy, and the line of sand continues past it.
I pause with my hand on the iron gate, part of me questioning whether I should go any farther. I mean, what is this? Who would have laid a trail of sand to lead me all this way and why? How did they get into my room without me hearing them?
But something pulls me forward and has me pushing open the creaking iron gate. A few steps inside, and I realize I’m entering a gorgeous walled-off garden. A look down the length of it reveals statues set in ivy along the perimeter of the high stone wall, flower gardens throughout, and trellises with climbing flowers covering them over a few of the pathways that lead to the center fountain.
It’s like a hidden paradise.
“What the hell are you doing?”
I whip around with a startled gasp. Obsidian’s eyes are black as night, staring at me with an intensity so fierce I struggle not to run away from not only here but the manor completely.
“I… I…” I glance to the side to motion to the trail of sand that led me here, but I double-take, spinning all the way around. “It’s gone.” I blink several times, trying to make sense of how sand could somehow disappear without one grain visible.
“What’s gone?”
“Um…” I’ll sound like an idiot if I say I followed an imaginary path of sand that led me right to him. “Nothing. Sorry.”
He narrows his eyes and brings a joint to his lips, taking a pull off it. Deep, dark circles hang under his eyes, and his clothes are rumpled. His wavy hair on top looks mussed as though he’s run his fingers through it a thousand times. Despite all of that, he’s still the most attractive man I’ve ever seen in person.
“I couldn’t sleep,” I say.
“That doesn’t explain why you’re out here at the crack of dawn, looking like you just rolled out of bed.”
His gaze drops to my legs, and I remember that I’m standing in front of my boss sans bra or pants in only an oversized T-shirt. I pull at the hem of the shirt, trying to cover up.
“Don’t do that on my account. I’m enjoying the view.” He takes another pull off the joint, then tosses it on the ground and crushes it beneath his shoe.
“I didn’t think I’d see anyone. It’s so early.” I glance at the sky where the first tendrils of daylight are making an appearance.
Without a word, he walks over to a bench set to the side of the path. He flops down into it and leans back, legs spread and chin up, face pointed at the sky. Gone is his usual suave nature. There’s something forlorn about his presence.
Getting the hell out of here would probably be smart, but for some reason, I can’t make my bare feet move. Instead, I walk toward Obsidian, although tentatively. He’s the definition of a closed book, but something in my gut tugs me his way.
“What are you doing here? Have you been up all night?”
He lifts his head to look at me when I come to stand in front of him. “That obvious?”
I shrug. “Kinda. You on a bender?”
He chuckles low in his throat, but there’s no humor there. “I wish. No, nothing like that.” Obsidian heaves out a sigh, and it sounds so tired, so sad, that I draw closer.
“Are you all right?”
Seeing a man as powerful as him like this is strange. The Obsidian who showed up in his office all week was a five-foot-thick concrete wall, like nothing could pierce his exterior. But the man in front of me this morning is so far removed from that persona. Somehow, I instinctively know that the man here this morning is the one I saved from drowning on that beach.
He doesn’t answer my question. He just continues to stare at me.
“Do you want me to leave?” I ask when the silence stretches too thin.
He slowly shakes his head, never taking his eyes off me. “I don’t want to be alone.”
I nod. We’re quiet for another few beats until I think of something to say. “What is this place?” I gesture to the garden surrounding us.
“You’ve never seen a garden before?”
My head tilts and my mouth presses into a thin line. He might be feeling low, but clearly not all remnants of the man who likes to push my buttons have disappeared. “Obviously, but this seems like more than just a garden.”
He frowns for a second. “My mom used to call it the secret garden when we were young.”
His gaze drifts to somewhere behind me, and he remains fixated on it. I turn around to see what he might be looking at, but I see nothing but a flower garden that looks like all the others.
“Did you spend a lot of time here?” Maybe it’s somewhere he likes to go when he wants to clear his head.
Obsidian shakes his head. “Not back then. More these days.”
He’s not giving me much to work with, but at least he’s talking to me without trying to be the world’s biggest dick. Progress.
“It’s really beautiful.” I turn to look around the garden once more, but when I face him again, his gaze is roaming my body.
My cheeks heat, and I resist the urge to press my thighs together.
What would it be like to sleep with a man like Obsidian? I’ve only ever been with guys around my own age. Something tells me that being with Obsidian would be an experience that’s worlds away from any I’ve had. No part of me can picture him making love or being gentle in bed. He probably fucks all his partners like an animal exerting his dominance.
I stifle a groan at that thought.
He straightens on the bench and leans forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. “It pales in comparison to you.”
My eyes widen, and my breath picks up. It’s the first compliment he’s given me, and the sexual tension goes into overdrive. Does he mean it? Is he setting me up for some cruel joke so he can laugh at me later?
“You’ve got great legs.” His knuckles skim along the side of my leg, coming to rest on my hip, under my T-shirt.
I suck in a breath, knowing I should back away but somehow unable to.
He waits for my reaction, fixated on me. When I don’t move, his eyes glitter, knowing I decided not to move, and he squeezes my hip. The heat of his skin on mine spreads through my body like a spiderweb.
“They’re distracting when you wear a skirt or a dress.” His voice is as rough as the stone beneath my feet.
“Is that why you’re such an asshole to me?” The words slip out of my mouth.
A deep chuckle leaves his lips. “No, that’s just because my brothers think I need a babysitter, and you were chosen for the job. It’s nothing personal.”
I’d gathered as much, but it still doesn’t mean it’s easy to set aside.
He moves the hand on my hip, sliding it around to my back and over the globe of my ass. He squeezes and groans. “Fuck, this ass is distracting as fuck too.”
I don’t dare move, afraid to break the spell, loving the feel of his hands on me.
But then I remember what I’m here to do, and when his hand slides again, his fingers coming close to the crack of my ass, I abruptly step back.
Anger flashes across his face, and his gaze meets mine.
“I should go.” I don’t wait for him to say anything as I scurry toward the iron gate I came through, all the while attempting to hold my T-shirt down enough that it covers my ass. Not my most graceful exit to be sure.
It doesn’t matter though. I need some space from Obsidian because the last thing I can do is become even more attracted to him. I’m here for one purpose only, and it’s not to fall for the billionaire bad boy, no matter what games he’s playing.