Chapter 17 - Lilia
Getting caught was so disappointing that I almost broke my teeth from gnashing them. The sight of Gavril’s car pulling into the parking lot where I cowered was a blow, but certainly not unexpected. I didn’t really think my escape attempt would work.
But I did it. I tried. It was exhilarating that I actually went through with it, and even when he caught me and hauled me back into his car, I felt alive. I took the long shot instead of sitting around waiting to see what happened to me next.
Well, now I had no choice but to sit and wait. In Gavril’s bed of all places. The brute actually handcuffed me to the bedpost. The terror that washed over me nearly made me pass out, but I stared him down as the cold metal clicked around my wrist.
I was getting stronger. Earning my last name at last and acting like one of them.
A few minutes after he left, Varvara returned with the greasy shrimp taco on a plate, garnished with her signature mint leaves. Gavril went the extra mile for some reason, actually stopping at the taco shack instead of immediately bringing me home for punishment.
And now the punishment was getting to eat one of my favorite meals? He even added fries to the order, and now they were placed in a heap next to the little silver dish the cook had scraped the spicy sauce into.
There was no reason to laugh at all, being cuffed to a bed with a monster loose in the house, but the fact that Varvara transferred the sauce from the paper cup to this fancy container made me snicker at least. Gavril certainly liked nice things; that was for sure.
Hmph. To think he believed his watch collection could rival the value of the works of Shakespeare. He really was a brute.
There was no reason to ignore the meal; it would only spite myself, so I dug in, keeping an eye on the door between bites. He had left me alone, and I was grateful for a chance to calm down and regroup, but despite being tired to the bone, I remained jumpy. When would he return?
What would he do when he did?
And more pressing at the moment, would I stay handcuffed to the bed all day, or was he just making a point?
If this were happening to a character in a book, I would be laughing my head off at what the poor heroine got herself into, but I didn’t find it comical at all when it was happening to me in real life.
Books were a crutch everyone in my life, including myself, believed I leaned on too much, but there was nothing I wanted more than to escape into the pages.
Anything to pretend cold metal wasn’t cutting into my wrist, or that I was at Gavril’s mercy.
And the fact that he had to be pissed off beyond belief at my escape attempt.
Roiling nerves didn’t let me finish the fries, and I pushed the plate as far away as I could get it in my tethered state.
Handcuffed. For that alone, I’d find a way to make him pay.
I fought the creeping urge to sleep, but staying up all night was taking a toll.
My eyes grew heavy, but as soon as I started to sink into a more comfortable position, my hand would jerk against the cuffs, the pain and rattling metal jolting me awake.
Finally, the door opened, and fear stole over me again, but I reminded myself of who I was and what I had done.
Or tried to do. Didn’t matter. I was getting stronger.
The look in Gavril’s dark eyes was fierce as he strode closer, and I closed my eyes, waiting for the worst. Let him try anything at all, and I’d use the one free hand I had to scar him for life.
There was a thump on the bed beside me, and I opened my eyes, shocked to find the book I had left face down on my bedside table. Did he think I would thank him?
It didn’t seem like he cared either way as he strode into the adjoining bathroom, and the sounds of the shower blasting a few moments later drifted out to me.
What I wouldn’t give for a hot shower. Running full speed for at least ten blocks wasn’t something I normally did.
I was a bit of a sedentary creature, preferring my comfy chair and, at most, easy strolls around Aleks’s grounds.
My back ached from jostling over the concrete, and that final attempt to scale a ten-foot-high fence and getting grabbed back down added to it. Gavril’s shower lasted only a few minutes, and when he came out of the bathroom in a puff of steam, I found myself staring.
How could I not? Enemy or no, the man was imposing enough in a suit.
Wearing only a low-slung towel, with beads of moisture clinging to his carved abs and broad shoulders, he was jaw-dropping.
I tried not to let my eyes eat him up as eagerly as I devoured the shrimp taco, but it was hard to keep them off his chiseled body.
The way the towel clung to him, outlining everything…
I leaned too far forward and rattled the handcuffs. He smirked and loomed over me. My proximity senses went off, but not in the normal way. Usually, I wanted people out of my bubble, but the warmth of his skin as he leaned over me didn’t evoke the need to recoil.
So, this was finally happening. My mind went blank, the urge to fight shriveling up as fear and something I refused to identify warred inside me. It wasn’t desire. That was impossible.
He unlocked the cuffs and rubbed my raw wrist for a second before dropping it. It fell onto my lap since I was unable to move, or speak, and breathing was becoming a problem. He pushed me aside and climbed into bed, thumping the pillow before resting against it.
“I’m a light sleeper,” he warned. “You won’t get far if you try, so don’t try. I’ve been up all night, so be quiet.”
I scurried off the bed as he stretched out his long, muscular legs, which threatened to bulldoze me off.
The look he gave me made my blood boil, and not just with wrath at being so ignominiously bound to the bed like that.
His eyes dropped appreciatively, much the same as mine must have done when he first came out of the shower.
I turned and ran into the bathroom to the sound of his self-satisfied chuckle.
I took my own shower to get the grime of hiding behind a dumpster off of me, then perused the linen closet and all the drawers in the big bathroom.
There was no way I’d leave until I was certain he was asleep, and pressing my ear to the door didn’t tell me anything.
The bathroom was basically a small palace, with gold fixtures and white marble counters, and a huge window overlooking the garden.
After my quick shower, I found his robe hanging on a hook and wrapped up in it.
The big, deep tub called to my aches and pains, but I didn’t dare get in and luxuriate with Gavril just on the other side of the door.
The view outside only kept me entranced for so long, with only a few breezes ruffling the trees and a sighting of one of the discreet guards talking to a gardener.
I was fading fast, but the idea of lying down on the thick white rug near the closet didn’t seem dignified.
After the need to sleep overrode my fear of what would happen if Gavril was still awake, I cracked open the door to take a peek.
“You must have a very in-depth beauty routine,” he said, still awake, still resting against the pillows, his phone in his hand, but his eyes on me. “Here I thought you were more the natural type.”
“I’m actually very low maintenance,” I said, wrapping the big robe tighter around me. It smelled like his intoxicating cologne, but it was better than putting on my own clothes, which were sweaty and dusty from my escape attempt.
He laughed. “Not that I’ve seen.”
I ignored the jibe but couldn’t ignore the long, assessing look he gave me. Did he really think I’d join him?
“What will happen if I refuse to sleep in your bed?” I asked, crossing my arms over my chest.
“You’re welcome to go ahead and find out if you’re that curious,” he said, rattling the handcuff that still hung from the post.
I ignored his low, rumbling laugh and got on the other side of the bed, staying as far away from him as possible.
I was practically half off the mattress, but could still feel the heat radiating off of him.
And he was still naked under the blanket that rested across his firm stomach. Was he flexing?
I turned away, grabbing my book and curling into a ball.
The room was a comfortable temperature, but as I read and slowly drifted off to sleep, I felt chilled and wished I dared get under the covers.
But that was where he was. I only curled up tighter and read a few more pages until the book finally fell out of my hand.
The sweet lure of sleep was dragging me further under, and it almost seemed like I was already dreaming as a blanket dropped over me, a big hand tucking it in around me and smoothing gently over my side.
A very nice dream, with the warmth feeling so real, I let myself drift completely to sleep.