He lifted my chin with one finger, forcing my eyes on him. “Pay attention to this part. It’s important.” Then he leaned down, brought his mouth to my ear and whispered, “I’m not letting you go.”
Even though his words were cold, a surge of heat shot through me from where his fingers met my skin all the way to the bottom of my belly. A single touch pulled all my tension to the surface, relaxing me from the inside out. With a fingertip, he crushed all my apprehension, all my doubt, when it should have sent chills up my spine.
“This conversation is over. That’s your room.” He pointed across the hall to the room I’d been in earlier. “Now. Go. The fuck. To bed.” He spoke slowly and deliberately the way he’d threatened to a moment ago.
It made me want to kick him in the balls. Instead, I shoved at his chest with both hands, pushing him away from me.
He grabbed my wrists and held them in place, staring down at me with fire in his eyes.
My body trembled at the vulnerable position. I was helpless and at his mercy. I hated it.
And I wanted more of it. Part of me wanted to push him, to test his limits, but I wasn’t dumb enough to try.
“If you ever touch me again without permission, I will break every finger in your delicate little hands,” he snarled. Then he dropped my hands as if they were covered in poison.
I watched in silence as he walked down the hall, flinching at the sound of a door slamming shut. And then I went back downstairs to grab my stuff.
I carried my bags to my room, the one across the hall from his, the one where I’d be sleeping while he was thirty feet away.
After going into the bathroom and running cool water over my face, I plopped a suitcase on the bed then slipped out of my dress. It fell in a puddle of silk around my feet. The cool air kissed my bare skin, drawing my nipples into hard peaks and making them sensitive as I pulled an oversized t-shirt on and the soft cotton fabric brushed against them. My body was still a livewire from being pinned against the wall.
The leather-bound journal caught my eye, so I pulled it out and opened to the first page. Tucked inside the crease was a thin blue pen tied to a white ribbon. Sadie had thought of everything.
I wrote my thoughts, then tossed the journal on top of my clothes. Reality sank in as I climbed under the covers, accidentally knocking the suitcase onto the floor.
Day one:
I am a princess locked in a tower.
And the dragon is in here with me.