Chapter Six
Valen
The first thing I registered was warmth, and the familiar scent of lilacs. Soft flesh pressed against my chest, and my hand flexed involuntarily on her lower back.
Seraphine was sprawled across me, one leg thrown over my hip, her face buried in the crook of my neck.
Her dark wavy hair was spread over the pillow like spilled ink.
I wanted to hate how her body molded to mine, like she’d been made to fit there.
Her breath was warm against my neck, and every single exhale was sending a direct signal to my cock.
She’d tossed and turned for hours trying to get comfortable, and somehow, she’d ended up practically riding me.
The handcuffs had done the trick, forcing her to stay exactly where I wanted her.
But I hadn’t planned on her body reacting to our closeness.
If she knew she was unconsciously grinding herself against me, she would be mortified.
I should wake her up and put some distance between us before this got any more complicated than it already was. But I’d never claimed to be a good man. At least not anymore.
Instead, I let myself enjoy the feeling of her body against mine. Her hair smelled like a mixture of both our scents, lilac and cedar, and she murmured in her sleep. My hand still rested on her lower back, the skin smooth and warm.
She was tiny compared to me, almost fragile.
Knowing what he’d done to her sent a protective feeling through me that made no fucking sense.
Instead of revenge, I was thinking about hunting down every single person who’d ever hurt her and making them pay.
All while she was trying to either shoot me or drug me and escape. The irony wasn’t lost on me.
The memory of her trying to drug me last night like an amateur assassin made me smile.
I’d known she was up to something when she offered to cook dinner.
She’d been so obvious about everything. The way she measured the drinks, how she kept glancing at me.
The pills worked better than I expected, pulling me under into a light sleep.
But she hadn’t counted on my tolerance. Six years of prison meds versus a few crushed sleeping pills?
She’d never had a chance. The moment she climbed on top of me, I came to—groggy, but very much aware.
I kept my breathing steady and my face relaxed even as she climbed all over me.
I wanted her to think I was still out. To see how far she was willing to go.
Whether she’d just take the keys and run, or if there was something else up her sleeve.
The pills made my thoughts slower, but I was awake enough to know she was straddling me, her hands roaming, searching.
Now she moaned deep in her throat, pressing herself against me. I could tell by the way her breathing turned more ragged that she was awake, yet she lay perfectly still. Probably hoping I was still asleep so she could figure out her next move.
Smart girl. Too bad for her I had other plans, and they didn’t involve giving her another opportunity to try to fucking kill me.
“I know you’re awake, Seraphine.” My voice was rough with sleep, and she tensed up in my arms. “You know, last night when you mentioned you enjoyed playing dangerous games, I didn’t know you meant somnophilia.”
She leaned back slightly, her eyebrows drawn together as she glared at me with those fiery blue eyes. “Somno… what?”
“Somnophilia.” I tightened my grip on her lower back, holding her to me. “When you get aroused by someone who’s unconscious or asleep.”
Her face went blank for a moment before her eyes widened. “What? I wasn’t… I didn’t…” She tried to push away from me, only to be yanked back by the handcuffs. “That is not what was happening.”
“Really?” I growled. “Because if you want me to fuck you, all you have to do is beg, little lamb.”
Her breath hitched, and I could see the war in her eyes—defiance mixed with something she wasn’t ever going to admit. “You’re delusional if you think that would ever happen.” Her voice was breathy and lacking conviction.
“Am I?” I glanced down to where she was pressed against me, her leg still wrapped over my hip. “Because your actions are telling a very different story.”
Her face burned with embarrassment as she glanced down at the intimate position we were in. “I was sleeping. It wasn’t on purpose, you insufferable ass.” She pushed her finger into my chest. “I. Do. Not. Want. To. Fuck. You.” She enunciated each word with a jab of her finger.
I gripped her wrist, pinning her hand between us. “Then what was last night?”
I was dying to know how she’d thought she was getting away. What made her think facing a blizzard was preferable to facing me.
“I have to pee.” She tilted her chin up defiantly, as if that was going to make this situation go away.
“Then let’s go to the bathroom.” I leaned up on my elbow, enjoying the way the smile dropped from her face.
“Aren’t you going to unchain us?” She held her wrist up, wiggling our arms.
“Tell me why you drugged me,” I challenged right back.
She scoffed, turning her head away from me. “Maybe I’ll just pee on you. Right here in your lovely king-sized bed.”
“Kinky, but not my thing. Although I could make an exception this one time.”
She covered her face with her hands, bringing mine close to hers. “Just… let’s go then.” She sighed, the fight leaving her.
I stood, pulling her with me. She stumbled slightly, obviously not used to being tethered to someone. Unlike myself. I’d spent too much time chained at the ankles and waist to a line of other men.
When we got to the bathroom, she glanced down at the toilet, then back to me.
“Seriously? You’re really not going to unchain us?” The look on her face said it all. She thought I was bluffing.
“I’m not going anywhere.” I gestured to the handcuffs. “Literally can’t. This isn’t some twisted perversion I have, like the ones we just discovered about you.” I made a tsking noise with my tongue. “This is to make sure you don’t do anything stupid.”
“I’m not going to do anything!” She threw her hands up, her face turning a shade of pink.
“Tell me why you drugged me.” For every step I took forward, she took one back until she was pressed against the wall.
“I’ve got nothing but time, Seraphine. Think of all the bonding we’ll do like this.
Showers. Cooking. Sleeping. What other secrets will I uncover about you, hm?
” I caged her in with my body, noticing the flutter of her pulse in her neck.
“Fine.” She looked everywhere but at my face. “I went into your room.”
I grabbed her by the chin, forcing her to meet my eyes. “Which room?”
“The one with the pictures and articles… I saw your letters,” she said softly.
The words hit me like I’d just gotten punched. Those letters… years of unguarded thoughts showing my anger and hatred. The nights I’d written to her just to feel less alone in that fucking cage.
Fuck.
I let her confession hang in the air for a moment, silence stretching between us.
My jaw clenched, and I tried to reel in my anger. “You read them?”
She flinched at my tone, shaking her head. “No, I glimpsed the first one… I saw barely anything. I was looking for my gun.”
“You were never supposed to see those.” I dropped my hand from her chin. Those letters were mine. My private thoughts. My therapy. My way of staying sane.
“I…” She met my gaze directly. “I was scared, Valen. Scared of what you might do to me. So yes, I went through your things looking for a way out. I saw the snowmobile, remembered my pills, and did what I thought I had to do. I won’t apologize for trying to save myself.”
She was right. Her honesty hit something raw inside of me I hadn’t felt in a long time. I gripped her cuffed hand and pulled her toward the hallway.
“Where are we going?” She staggered behind me.
“It’s time I gave you the full tour.” I grabbed the keys from the bedroom floor and unlocked the cuffs.
She rubbed her wrist, wincing slightly. “Lead the way,” she grumbled.
Down the hall, I unlocked the door and tugged her into the darkness. There was a heaviness in the room that seemed to press against your chest. I flickered on the light, letting the soft glow light up the room.
She went still beside me, her intake of breath the only sound in the silence. Her eyes widened as she took in the photos again, articles and red strings connecting it all like a deranged detective’s murder board. Her face stared back at us from dozens of angles.
Slowly she walked the length of the wall, each step careful, like she was scared I might pounce on her at any moment. Every so often she’d glance at me, and I could see the wheels spinning in her eyes—calculating, trying to figure out exactly how dangerous I was.
“What do you see?” I crossed my arms over my chest, leaning against the desk.
She faced the wall, her back to me when she spoke. “Well, I’m no detective, but it looks like you might be slightly obsessed with me.” Her attempt at humor fell flat, her voice trembling.
Clever girl. She was right to be frightened. Before she’d shown up on my mountain, this board was about revenge on the two people who had ruined me. Revenge was supposed to be my salvation. But somehow, between saving her from the blizzard and cuffing her to me, the lines were starting to blur.
“What else do you see?”
The room was quiet as she stood with her hands on her hips, analyzing the wall.
“You’re tracking him.” It wasn’t a question, more of statement. Her fingers glided over the map, lingering over the areas with pins in them from the recent murders. Her shoulders tensed when her fingers trailed lower to the second map.
“What is this?” she whispered as she touched all eight pins around the New York state area.
“His hunting grounds.” I moved closer, my chest pressed against her back. “The map up top is for the recent murders. The bottom one is from six years ago.”
Her body went rigid, fear radiating off her. “How many?”