Chapter 27 #3
As I try to accept that truth, I make my way to the next room.
It’s just as massive as the last one, with a large L-shaped couch, an oval coffee table, and a comfortable-looking chair.
Along the left wall are shelves and cubbies full of puzzles, crochet kits, drawing pads, board games, paint, blank canvases, journals, scrapbooks, cameras, and so much more.
There’s so much to look through that I know if I start, I won’t be able to stop, so instead, I decide to come back to this room another day when I have more time to drown myself in all the activities.
The door at the end of the hall is also unlocked, but when I walk in, I get an overwhelming feeling I’m not supposed to be in here.
All around are painted canvases. On each one, a stunning woman with shoulder-length blonde hair and piercing blue eyes stares back at me.
She looks to be in her mid-to-late thirties, but her skin looks practically flawless, though maybe it’s just because they’re paintings.
“This room was supposed to be locked.” I spin around to find Thane standing in the doorway with pursed lips.
“I-I’m sorry. I’ll go.” I move to leave, but he steps wide, blocking the entire space with his broad frame.
“Wait. You don’t have to go. I just… I usually keep these private.”
I glance over my shoulder at the room full of canvases before turning back to him.
“You painted all of these?” He nods, running his hand along the back of his neck. “They’re incredible.”
“You think so?” He’s looking at me, nervously waiting for my answer, like he actually cares what I think. It would be endearing if it wasn’t so weird.
Before it gets any more awkward, I turn my attention back to one of the canvases, running my eyes over each detail. “They’re impressive. I wish I could paint half as good as this.”
“I could teach you.”
I whip back around to look at him, surprised to see the serious expression on his face.
“It’d be a waste of time. I have zero artistic ability.”
“Anyone can learn how to paint, even talentless humans.” The corner of his mouth hooks up just slightly, and for a second, he doesn’t look like the guy who has made my life a living hell.
“Who is she?” I ask, feeling the need to change the subject.
Thane’s smirk falls, and he takes a couple steps into the room. “I’m not sure. She shows up in my dreams almost every night. It’s the same thing each time. She looks utterly terrified and whispers, ‘He’s coming,’ right before she screams, and that’s when I wake up.”
I walk over to another one of the canvases perched on an easel, and my eyes catch on her necklace as my fingers trace the image of a round pendant with two upside-down triangles connecting in the middle.
“This necklace,” I say, turning to face Thane, who’s watching me intently, “I used to have the same one.”
His brows furrow. “You did?”
I reach for the empty space on my chest where it used to lie.
“It was the only thing my birth mother left with me when she dropped me off at the fire station when I was a baby. They said it had been wrapped around my hand. For years, I wore it every day, hoping it would somehow lead me to her.” I pause, looking down at the floor while idly running my foot across the light beige carpet.
“Eventually, when she never sought me out, I got rid of it. By then, it had just become a painful reminder that she wanted nothing to do with me.”
Thane takes a step closer. “Maybe she just wanted to give you a better life than the one she could offer.”
When I look up, he brushes the hair out of my eyes, tucking it behind my ear, and to my surprise, I don’t flinch or pull away. I just let it happen, closing my eyes to bathe in the comfort of his touch. When his hand falls away, I take a step back, turning away from him.
Stupid bond.
“A lot of good that did,” I mutter, as my resentment flares with the thought of being abandoned by the woman who was supposed to love me unconditionally.
Silence radiates between us, neither of us knowing what to say next. Eventually, I turn to leave, no longer wanting to sit in the uncomfortable quiet that has fallen over us.
“Do you like your other rooms?” Thane calls out when I step into the hallway. “I didn’t know what you liked to do in your spare time, so I figured I’d give you options.”
I turn on my heel, shock plastered all over my face. “You did that for me? When?”
He shrugs, running his hand over his stubble. “After I let you go, I guess a part of me had hoped you’d come back. Or maybe part of me knew I wouldn’t be able to stay away, but I knew if I took you prisoner again, it couldn’t be like last time. Not after—”
He doesn’t finish his thought, but he doesn’t have to. I know something changed for him the night of Halloween.
“Well, thank you. The rooms are perfect.”
“Good.”
Again, silence fills the space between us, neither of us knowing how to navigate this new dynamic. Who are we to each other now? I’m no longer his pet, and he’s no longer my tormentor.
Still, it’s like we’re both prisoners to this bond that binds us to one another. Locked in a twisted partnership neither of us wanted.
“You’ll join me for dinner and stay with me tonight,” he orders in his stern Alpha tone that I loathe.
“A please would be nice next time!” I call out, as he stalks down the stairs.
Apparently, the old Thane is still alive and well. Bond or not, there’s no getting rid of the Alpha asshole that lives within that ridiculously attractive exterior, and that’s just something I’m going to have to accept if I want this little arrangement we have to work out.