Chapter 16 #2
I fixate on a necklace laden with blood-red rubies, each one bigger than my eyeballs and encircled by glittering diamonds. I can’t help myself as I reach down to touch it.
I carefully pick it up from its velvet holder and hold it up to the nearest torch for a better view.
“The perfect choice for such an exquisite Familiar.” Knox’s deep voice rockets through me like a bolt of lightning. I turn to find him leaning against the frame of the open door, arms folded, looking like he is carved from the darkness itself.
Before I can protest his presence, he steps into my personal space faster than my human eyes can track. His predatory eyes gleam like the rubies in my hand as he observes me.
“May I?” he asks, raising an eyebrow.
My heart pounds hard against its cage. I now understand exactly what Blondie meant. This man makes me feel like I’m the only person in the world who matters to him. I’d be an idiot to fall for it.
But right now, I kind of want to be an idiot.
I swallow hard and nod, handing him the necklace.
I turn my back to him, focusing only on the sound of my own pulse pounding a rhythm I don’t recognize as he pulls my hair to one side of my neck.
The touch of his fingertips leaves a prickling fire in their wake.
When he drapes the necklace across my collarbones, I hold my breath, and not because of how my jugular is now exposed to him.
The necklace isn’t as heavy as I imagined it would be, but I flinch as the ice-cold metal hits my skin. I step over to the vanity mirror and gasp at my reflection. It must also be enchanted, like the ones from before.
I’m me, but not quite. My skin is paler than usual, and my hair is perfectly styled to one side, the cascading curls framing my face in a way that accentuates my bone structure.
The mirror shows me wearing a fitted, strapless black silk dress, simple enough that it doesn’t distract from the necklace.
I’m starting to feel as if red is my color.
“Do you like it?”
My heart races as he trails a finger down my bare arm. I follow his touch and realize I’m actually wearing the dress. The reflection is real this time.
“Yes,” I breathe out.
“This is what it means to be my Familiar.” Knox’s body heat radiates behind me, but I see only myself when I look back at the mirror. The ghost of his hand finally finds its resting place within mine.
An electrical surge unlike anything I’ve ever felt sets my blood on fire. I try to rationalize it and fight the bond, reminding myself that he’s a monster who is keeping me here against my will.
“You’re an idiot if you think I can be bought,” I say, but I don’t let go of his hand.
His deep voice rumbles in my ear. “Your blood tells me a different story.”
I whirl around to face him, readying an argument on my tongue.
He cuts me off, his words a slow, sensual drawl. “The way it heats in my presence tells me you’re desperate to be doted on, to feel wanted, to feel like you’re worth something to someone.”
My cheeks burn with embarrassment while tears fill my eyes. “You don’t know anything about me,” I mutter, fighting the urge to break down and scream.
“I know what lies beneath your skin. You crave the darkness I can provide. There’s no harm in giving in and admitting you want me as much as I want you. We were destined to be together.”
Confusion tightens my stomach. Is that what the bond really is? Two people destined for their fates to be entwined?
His face hovers so close to mine that I feel the heat of his breath on my lips. His natural scent hits me like an anvil. Oak and spices. Darkness and desire. An intoxicating essence I will never forget.
It would be too easy to give in now, to say fuck it to my life’s purpose and let the monster swallow me whole. I could leave the rest of the humans to their fates, forget about finding Mom’s killer…
No. I can’t do it.
“Such pretty words,” I say simply, as I give myself a mental slap for getting distracted by a handsome man with a stupid necklace. Knox smirks as I wrench my hand away from his.
“You’ll give in eventually.” He looks me up and down, and I shiver.
“I thought being your mate was supposed to be a secret. Yet here you are, practically begging me to be yours.”
Knox finally takes a step back from me. I’m thankful in that moment for some space between us—and for the reminder that he’s a complete ass.
He’s like a grey mist that descends in the twilight hours.
There’s still a shred of light visible in the fog, but it’s too murky to make anything out.
Each time Knox reveals his truth to me, his fog shifts and leads me astray until I’m utterly lost.
“As you know, our dinner tonight will be with The Five and their chosen Familiars. Think of it as an initiation of sorts.” As he flicks an invisible piece of dust from the arm of his jacket, fearful anticipation pools in my stomach.
He frowns at me. “No, don’t do that. Your blood smells so much better when you’re feisty and lustful. ”
Can’t this man do anything else besides get under my skin?
“I am not lustful.” He still hasn’t responded to me calling him out on the hypocrisy of keeping our bond a secret while also flaunting it at the same time. I decide to throw it back in his face. “The thought of you being anywhere near me makes my skin crawl, you deluded, egotistical asshole.”
My angered outburst leaves me breathless. But I don’t dare take my eyes away from him. He doesn’t show any flicker of emotion as he mutters quietly.
“I wouldn’t berate me so loudly if I were you. The walls have ears.” He winks suggestively, and the blood drains from my face. If the walls have ears, then that means someone could’ve heard us the other night.
Without another word from my vampire captor, I’m left alone again.
With more questions than answers.
I stomp over to the bed and grab a pillow, shoving my face into it… and scream.