Chapter Four
Tyson
She’s perfect.
I can’t get enough of the awe carved into her gorgeously delicate face.
I’ve worked fucking ceaselessly to make this the perfect home for her, filled with everything I knew she loves only to then lie awake at night, imagining how I’d finally bring her here.
But fuck, seeing her in flesh in front of the cabin I’ve build with Malory in mind, it’s a thousand times better that anything I had envisioned.
I can’t look away.
My eyes tracing the gentle curves of her body up to her slim neck, picturing how my hand would look wrapped around it.
Her expression grows vary as she keeps gazing up at me with those big, green eyes, a small line forming between her brows. The urge to smooth it out with my thumb overwhelms me.
Not yet.
It would probably disturb her more than soothe her right now. She’s not ready for that.
But soon, with some time and patience, I’ll get to touch what’s mine.
It’s not lost on me how her body reacts to my touch even if she doesn’t want to admit it to herself.
The little shudders whenever our skin connects, the way her pupils dilate whenever I catch her observing me.
Sooner or later, she’ll give in.
I’ll make sure of it.
Nothing will stand in the way of Malory becoming mine, not even the girl herself.
Nonetheless, I want her to come to me willingly.
The hardest thing about that particular plan is taking it slow. I’m still a stranger to her even though she’s anything but to me, which means I have to be careful not to scare her away.
She may be fearful, but she can’t hide the fact that she’s also a little intrigued. And I have the full intention of exploiting that sentiment.
I’m nothing if not a patient man. It goes with my profession.
“See the group of stars over there?” I break our staring match by pointing towards the sky. “That’s the Pisces constellation.”
“My star sign?” Malory asks while looking up, exposing her slender, flawless throat to me. Making me grind my teeth together to the point of breaking to stop myself from biting into it, from marking her as mine.
“Exactly.” I lean closer, breathing in her faint vanilla scent that makes my dick instantly hard like an aphrodisiac.
“You know my sign?” She muses, completely unaware that I’m barely holding back from pouncing on her.
“I know a lot about you, little one.”
Her breath hitches as I murmur the words against her temple.
“How can you tell?” She nods up at the sky. “I could never find a pattern in all of that.”
“As a child I spend almost every night hiding out on the roof of our mansion, looking up at the stars while dreaming about another life. It seemed possible at the time.”
“Why did you stop?” Of course she noticed the past tense.
“Because it was useless. Dreams are just an illusion.” I shake my head, staring off into the distance. “I took fate into my own hands and look where it has gotten me.”
“Eventually, into prison?”
The corner of my mouth shoots up at that. She has no idea about the things I’ve done.
“It has brought me you. Who would have thought that all the suffering would be worth it.”
Malory’s gaze shifts towards me, studying my face for a long time like she’s trying to figure out my innermost thoughts.
Yeah, good luck with that one.
“I was under the impression that I’m just a pawn against my father.” She counters, tilting her head as her eyes sparkle under the moonlight.
“That’s just what I want John to think.”
I can tell she doesn’t fully believe me, and I will gladly prove her wrong.
No woman has ever captured my interest. None has come remotely close.
Not even when I was younger and still capable of some emotions. I never experienced what it felt like to have a crush like my peers did.
And I’ve come to terms with the fact that it simply wasn’t something that would ever happen to me.
Later on in life, women just became warm holes. Ready for me to fill up at my whim, acting at most as a form of stress relief that I discarded like used tissues.
Yet there’s something about Malory that’s different. Entirely fucking distinct.
I see her, truly see her as a person. One with feelings and needs that I want to meet for some inexplicable reason.
It took stalking her for two fucking years for me to notice another human being for who they are besides using them for my own purposes. But it’s not just that.
The first night, after one of my half-brother’s contacts was finally able to dig up John’s down payment on a family home in San Francisco that happened around the time Malory was born, something in me shifted when I first saw her sitting alone by that window, lost in her painting while she hummed the same melody over and over.
The scene so pure and peaceful, intangible for a man like me. Yet there was an air of deep sadness about her that I couldn’t quite shake.
From then on I became hooked, checking up on her every night before I could bring her to our new home, making sure she was alright or I have no idea what I’d do to her fucking parents.
“I used to be afraid of the dark.” She says out of nowhere, looking upon the stars once more, talking mostly to herself. “I still am. Just not now.”
“Not anymore. Not with me .”
Her mouth opens slightly as her eyes widen, locking with mine.
At night, they have turned into a darker shade of green with her thick lashes casting a shadow over her high cheekbones under the moonlight.
The paleness of her porcelain skin contrasting with the rich chestnut color of her hair flowing in messy waves around her face.
So fucking beautiful.
The perfection of the ethereal being before me hits me hard in the gut.
I don’t deserve her, but I’ve taken her anyway.
Noticing the barely visible tremble in her limbs, the way she’s hugging herself, it strikes me just how cold it is out here.
Fuck, I didn’t even put shoes on her as I carried her unconscious form to my car which was parked a few blocks away, adorned with fake license plates.
I got fucking distracted by how good her small frame felt in my arms, like she always belonged there.
Just as I feel my cock turning solid once more, I wrap an arm around her slim waist, tugging her towards the lit-up porch.
“Who’s all here?” Malory asks anxiously, but she’s not squirming in my hold for once and I can’t deny the satisfaction purring in my chest because of it.
“It’s just us. I thought leaving the lights on would make it look more inviting.” I explain as we go. “No creepy basements, I promise.”
She nods absently, throwing a yearning look over her shoulder.
“I’ll show you around when it’s light outside.” I make it clear that I won’t be locking her up.
Malory’s whole face lighting up at the prospect and it does nothing to help my growing erection.
What is she doing to me?
One would think that after watching her for so long, I wouldn’t have such a visceral reaction to every little thing she does.
As soon as my keys rattle in the lock, I hear shuffling on the other side of the door.
Keeping Malory tucked against my side, I open it just a smidge but it’s enough for Nero, my old Doberman to squeeze through, jumping up at me in greeting before he turns to the newcomer.
To my utter disbelief, Malory presses her petite body further into mine, her tiny fists grabbing the fabric of my shirt. Her eyes blown wide and expression filled with fear.
That’s when it hits me that she’s trying to position me between the dog and herself, using my body as a makeshift shield.
The thought of her clinging to me for safety, even if I’m her only option, it makes my possessive streak roar.
Cementing my decision that from now on, I will be the only one she’ll come to, the only one to protect her, the only one to provide her with all her heart’s desires.
And if I must kill every other asshole who dares to look her in the process, then so be it.
No one, not her family, and certainly no stranger will come close to her again.
I’m all she needs from now on.
She will soon come to realize that.
Even though I hate to disrupt her tight hold on me, the distress in her eyes is making my blood boil like never before.
Grabbing Nero by his collar, I pull him away from Malory, cursing myself for not knowing that she feared large dogs.
I wouldn’t have put her in this situation if I knew.
“Hey, it’s okay, little one. He won’t hurt you.” I try soothing her. “Nothing ever will.”
Offering comforting words to anyone has never been something I cared for. Or was even capable of.
Ever since I could understand the world around me, I’ve come to realize that feelings are a burden. The same going for interpersonal relationships, something I’ve always steered clear from. With one exception apparently.
Malory’s hands are still shaking when she reluctantly lets me take one, bringing it up to Nero’s snout as he sniffs her knuckles with interest.
“I found him as a puppy, dumped in an alley near an underground fighting ring back in Los Angeles. They probably deemed him too weak for dogfights. So, I took him in.”
I don’t know what compelled me in that moment, but seeing him there on the verge of death, I saw myself in the animal.
I also saw what he could become, I saw his strength just like someone else has seen mine.
Nero’s wet nose nudges her hand and without further hesitation, the dog snuggles his head against her open palm.
With a tentative smile, I feel Malory’s muscles loosen as she gently pats his head.
“Sorry,” My princess looks down at her feet, unnecessarily embarrassed about what just transpired. “I used to be really scared of dogs as a child since I haven’t ever been around any. I’ve gotten mostly over it with age though. He just took me by surprise.”
It’s impressive how openly she shares her vulnerabilities, especially with the man who kidnapped her not too long ago of all people.
“He can be a little intense at times, but there’s no one more loyal.”
Seeing the two most important beings in my life together fills me with such deep-rooted sense of belonging, making me completely certain that bringing her here was the best decision I could have made.
Not that I stopped for a second to question my actions since I learned of her existence.
My obsession wouldn’t allow for a future where Malory wasn’t by my side.
“His name is Nero.”
“Italian for black?” She asks curiously, still stroking his short, dark fur.
“Yeah, exactly.” I mutter under my breath, astonished that she caught onto the little inside joke I have with myself.
If my father didn’t bother giving me an Italian name, pissing all over his heritage, the least I could do was to give one to my dog just to spite the dead bastard.
Nero rolls over at Malory’s feet while she tenderly rubs his belly, falling under her spell as easily as I did.
Before I can get jealous of my own damn dog, I make my way inside, waiting for them to follow.
“I tried making it homier with some blankets and other shit, but I’ve left most of the decorating up to you. It’s your place after all.”
“Huh?” She gapes at me, watching me intently with those rain forest eyes of hers that make my chest tighten every time.
“The cabin, it’s yours, Malory.” I meet her confused gaze. “Feel free to go all out, make it your home.”
I may have forced my brother’s hacker, the brother who’s conveniently Capo in Los Angeles, to get me the log-in information to her Pinterest account to match her taste.
Keeping the interior open concept with large kitchen windows looking out towards the porch, I added a spacious marble island with vintage bar stools. All natural materials and light colors.
In the center, a massive leather couch fills most of the living area, facing the fireplace with a tv mounted atop of it.
I know my girl loves her movie nights.
Speaking of, I turn to watch her reaction.
While Nero breezes past her legs, settling into his bed under the wooden staircase, Malory’s steps are more cautious, taking everything in with awe.
A weight I didn’t realize I carried falls off my shoulders when she doesn’t hate it at first glance.
That’s good since she isn’t leaving here anytime soon.
I could have easily gotten her a mansion or a penthouse, but something told me that she’d prefer this instead. With the added benefit that we’ll be forced to share a smaller, completely secluded space.
There’ll be no escaping me.
Ever.