Sonnet Ellison
The mask moved slowly over his beard, then his mouth, his nose, and finally the rest of his face. And I forgot to breathe.
Vega was beautiful, beautiful in the kind of unfair way that made a person look intentionally designed.
His light brown skin glowed beneath the morning light, smooth except for the faint scatter of freckles across his nose and cheeks.
Thick black waves covered his head in perfect rows, framed by a sharp hairline that made every angle of his face appear even more precise.
His eyebrows were dark and heavy, drawing attention to light brown eyes that looked almost amber without the mask surrounding them.
Those freckles were adorable, softening a face that usually intimidated people.
Small tattoos marked his temple and the skin beneath one eye, adding danger to features that were already difficult to ignore.
His nose was broad and well-shaped, his lips full, and a thick black beard covered his jaw, trimmed cleanly along his cheeks before growing fuller beneath his chin.
Diamond studs flashed in both ears whenever he moved.
Ink climbed from beneath the collar of his shirt and covered his throat, disappearing across shoulders and arms that looked powerful enough to remind me exactly how easily he had carried me.
His chest stretched the fabric of his fitted shirt, and the silver chain resting against it only made me notice the size of him more.
He was beautiful and intimidating all at once. Far more attractive than I had imagined. The mask had hidden a threat. His face revealed an entirely different kind of danger.
I stared at him. “That is statistically unfair.”
One of his thick eyebrows lifted. “What is?”
“For a psychopath to be that beautiful.”
Vega laughed openly. The movement changed his entire face. His eyes narrowed slightly, and a wide smile revealed straight white teeth.
I became even more enthralled and irritated at the same time. “And you have the audacity to have a beautiful smile.”
His laughter deepened. “You sound mad.”
“I am.”
“Because I’m not ugly?”
“Because the universe rewards terrible men with excellent facial structure.”
He shook his head and extended one hand. “Vega.”
I looked at it, then at him. “You’re introducing yourself after kidnapping me?”
“We skipped a few steps.”
A giggle escaped me as I placed my hand in his. “Sonnet.”
His hand remained around mine a second longer than necessary. For the first time since waking up inside that house, he felt like a person instead of a shadow standing between me and the door. Seeing his face didn’t erase what he had done, but it made trusting him feel less impossible.
I released his hand, saying, “You were right about what I saw.”
The humor left his expression.
Then I told him everything.
Once I was done, I even told him Donovan’s last words. “Then Donovan told him the truth would come out eventually. Those were the last words I heard before I ran.”
Vega’s jaw tightened. “He’ll never stop looking for you.”
I looked toward the locked door. “So Roman is going to kill me before I ever get to have sex. That feels unnecessarily cruel.”
Vega’s eyes snapped back to mine. “What?”
I immediately regretted saying it aloud, so I chewed on my bottom lip embarrassingly.
“You’re a virgin?”
“Yes.”
He nodded but his eyes widened a bit as if he were surprised.
The ease with which he believed me was insulting. So, I folded my arms. “Why did you accept that so quickly? Am I so unattractive that it makes perfect sense nobody has ever wanted to sleep with me?”
His leaned forward, bringing that perfect face closer and making the room shrink around him. “You’re one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Not woman. Things. Like something too rare to compare to anybody else.”
I swallowed.
He continued staring at me as if the words weren’t enough.
“I believe you because you haven’t given me a reason not to.
And I’m glad you didn’t let some unworthy nigga touch you just because everybody else acts like virginity is something you’re supposed to hurry up and lose.
” His gaze moved over my face. “You protected something precious.”
Heat climbed into my cheeks. The way he said it made my virginity sound less like inexperience and more like something valuable I had preserved for the right person.
I looked toward the breakfast tray. “So, I can trust that you won’t kill me?”
Vega reached for me. His fingers closed softly around my chin, guiding my face back toward his. “If I intended to hurt you, Glasses, you wouldn’t need to wonder.”
The warning should have repelled me. Instead, my clitoris pulsed. The response was sudden enough to make me press my thighs together.
His thumb rested beneath my lower lip while his eyes searched mine. I wondered if he could see what his touch had done to me. The slight shift in his expression suggested that he could.
I pulled away before my virgin, thirsty brain created another humiliating thought.
“Thank you for introducing yourself,” I said, sitting up straighter. “And for attempting to make me feel more comfortable.”
“Attempting?”
“You’re still holding me captive.”
He replied with a slow nod.
For a second, he didn’t say anything. Then his hand slipped into his pocket. He pulled out a small key. Then Vega reached for my ankle. I hated how good his hand felt holding it.
His eyes stayed on mine as he held the key between his fingers. “Promise me you won’t run.”
I lowly groaned.
“Promise me,” he pressed. “I need to know you trust me enough not to run straight into Roman’s hands.”
I looked from his face to the key, then down at the cuff around my ankle. “I won’t run.”
He bent over, slid the key into the lock, and turned it. The cuff opened with a small click, and the metal fell onto the floor.
I stared at my freed ankle, rubbing the place where the cuff had been. Then I told him, “I need to shower and eat breakfast.”
I needed him to get out of that room. I couldn’t think or breathe with him standing there looking down on me with those intense eyes.
Vega nodded but didn’t move. His attention drifted over my face once more, lingering as though leaving required more effort than it should have.
Then he picked up the mask and said, “I’ll be downstairs.”
He walked toward the door, glanced back once, and stepped into the hallway.
The lock clicked behind him.
I stared at the place where he had been standing.
The monster had become a man. A dangerously beautiful one who had just made my untouched body wonder what it might feel like to belong to him.