Mag-log inThe pale, golden light of the morning filtered through the windows, casting long shadows across my disheveled bed. I opened my eyes slowly. My body, for the first time in my life, was filled with a strange warmth. I rolled over my hand instinctively reaching out for Bane beside me, but my fingers only empty space. I almost forgot. He was already gone. Yet, despite his absence, the phantom weight of his arms still lingered on my skin. I sat up, pulling the duvet tight against my bare chest as I looked around the room. The scattered glass and the shattered remnants of the crystal perfume bottle had been cleaned up. I was too deep asleep to remember when the staff must have snuck in to clean up but I suspect it was in the early hours of the morning. I closed my eyes, a small smile touching my lips as a specific memory from dawn surfaced to the front of my mind. The way he smelled, the low, gravelly rumble of his voice, and his incredibly soft, lingering kiss. The kind h
The taste of blood from my bitten lip was a clear testament to the absolute chaos of her mouth. The anger that had nearly driven us apart just seconds ago was instantly rewired. Somehow, hate had transformed into a raw, electric desperation that burned through every fiber of our being. Amaya’s hands stopped pounding against my chest. With a soft, broken sob that was swallowed straight into my throat, her fingers uncurled, sliding up the lapels of my jacket to grip it with a frantic intensity. She wasn't trying to run away anymore. She was pulling me closer, her mouth opening beneath mine as she kissed me back with a fierce, unbridled hunger that matched my own stroke for stroke. "Amaya," I growled against her lips, the sound primitive and rough as I lifted her slightly, her feet clearing the marble floor as I carried her away from the door and back toward the large, disheveled bed. “I don’t know what to do, Bane. I don’t want to be here. I don’t know where to go”
The weight of the book that Amaya had thrown at me caused my back to hurt.“FUCK YOU, BANE!”Since when did she become so vulgar? I watched as her fist clenched while she stared daggers at me. Her breathing was fast, shallow, and ragged."What is wrong with you?" I yelled, my voice carrying with a mixture of raw shock and sudden, defensive fury. "What’s wrong with me??? What the hell is wrong with you, Bane? You’re sick!!!”"This is my house, Amaya!! You do not speak to me this way!" She walked up to me, bridging the gap and poked my chest with her small, manicured finger."I don’t give a damn!”I had to control myself. I wasn’t going to let her get into my head and cause me to lose my temper.“I am done playing these ridiculous games with you, Amaya. Good night”"I am not playing games!" she shouted back, shoving me. The flat, hollow indifference she had displayed at the dinner table was entirely gone, replaced by a wild fire that flared in her eyes. "I told you to leave me a
The leather upholstery of my office chair creaked under my weight as I rubbed the bridge of my nose, staring blankly at the flickering security tapes. I couldn’t help but think of Amaya. The staff and some of the guards had reported her sudden, violent outbursts and I couldn’t make sense of any of it. What changed? A sharp knock cut through the hum of the electronic servers. "Enter," I said. Regina stepped into the room, closing the door. She didn't take a seat and simply leaned against the edge of my heavy mahogany desk, watching me with a serious expression. "I'm busy, Regina," I said, not looking up from my monitors. “Sooooo about your princess…..” I threw my pen down on the desk. "If this is about her skipping another meal, I already know.” "It’s not about the food," Regina said smoothly, "She started asking me questions. Highly specific questions, Bane." I went entirely still, my hands hovering over the keyboard. "What kind of questions?" "She
The bedroom had become my entire universe, a box where the minutes bled into hours and hours into days.I sat on the plush velvet chaise by the window, staring out at nothing in particular. I felt completely, utterly torn. On one hand, Nathaniel’s confession haunted the corners of my mind, on the other hand, Regina’s brutal warning echoed louder.A definitive reminder that any attempt to flee would lead to a bloodbath. But the most terrifying fracture inside me wasn't the fear of running. It was the hate.I hated that I actually liked my captor. I hated that despite the chains, despite the walls, Bane’s touch was the only thing that made me feel grounded. A sharp series of knocks rattled the heavy bedroom doors, shattering my thoughts. "Amaya," Nathaniel’s voice called out from the corridor,. "Lord Bane has requested your presence in the formal dining room for dinner.“ I squeezed my eyes shut. The thought of sitting across from Bane, pretending everything was normal while m
The silence in the dining room was overwhelming, especially given the fact that Amaya sat across from me at the long mahogany table. She had her eyes completely fixed on her plate but she hadn't touched her food. She hadn't even looked at me since the guards pulled her chair out. Last week, she would have been talking about the beach, or the library, or trying to tease a smile out of me despite the chaos outside. Now, she was a statue. She felt like a cold, impenetrable wall. "The kitchen staff prepared the sea bass specifically because you requested it Tuesday," I said, breaking the silence as I set my fork down. Amaya didn't move. She merely pushed a piece of fish across the porcelain with her fork. "I'm not particularly hungry, Bane." "You haven't been hungry for some time, Amaya," I countered, trying to maintain a steady, calm register. "You're dropping weight. If you don't like the menu, you only have to tell the chef to alter it." "The menu is fine," she s
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