All Chapters of Devil's Bidding: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Lucas sat in the dark, his eyes fixed on Arabella as she slept, her frail form barely a shadow against the pillows. He sat there thinking of ways he would punish her. What was he to do with her? She’d dragged him here, out of his carefully ordered routine, as if *she* owned *him*. Forced him out here earlier than he'd planned. The thought twisted his lips into a grimace, his fingers tightening around the brandy glass he twirled, its amber liquid catching the faint moonlight. He’d forgone his usual cigarette, knowing the smoke might choke her fragile lungs. Her rebellious streak had upended his plans, her hunger strike a bold move that forced him into action. Here he was, giving in, drawn to her like a predator to a wounded creature. He studied her, his gaze unrelenting, and then as if feeling his gaze on her, she stirred, her eyes snapping to his presence, he smiled—a cold, predatory curve of his lips. His stare, they said, felt as though it could strip a soul bare. “Come he

Arabella "The reality," he murmured standing to his feet. "that you are nothing now."His voice was a cold whisper. "That you have no purpose... except the one I decide to give you.""That you cease to be a person."He stopped in front of me, towering."That you no longer have the luxury of a will. Or thoughts. Or a name that matters."I wanted to scream.To hit him.“And the fact,” he said coldly, “that there’s only one thing I’m keeping you for.”His eyes dropped—slow, deliberate—down to my chest.I saw red.Boiling, seething rage surged through me.“I had nothing to do with that auction,” I snapped, voice shaking. “You cannot buy people. Not in this day. Not in this age.”“I don’t have any money,” I said louder. “But that’s not a crime!”“You don’t get to claim someone like they’re a piece of property!”My voice was rising. I could feel it.But I didn’t care anymore.“I don’t even know how I got there in the first place,” I hissed. “Not really.”“I know how those places work. Some

“Fuck you, Lucas!” she screamed, her glare a blazing inferno of hatred, her tear-streaked face unyielding despite the tremors racking her small frame. She lunged forward, desperate to escape his presence, but a searing pain shot through her ankle, radiating up her leg. Her knees buckled, and she crumpled to the cold stone floor, a sob wrenching from her throat. Even as pain consumed her, she kept her eyes locked on Lucas, shooting lazers at him with them. He frowned,momentarily softening as he squatted beside her.“Stay away from me!” she yelled, her voice cracking, her good leg lashing out in a weak attempt to kick him. She’d twisted her ankle.Not just now, it had happened earlier when she tripped, but the pain had been buried beneath adrenaline and anger. Now it roared to the surface, merciless.Lucas loomed above her, his gaze unreadable, his towering presence making her seem impossibly small. She hugged her knees sobbing on the floor, her long hair tangled around her tear

Arabella I forced the tremor from my voice, swallowing the rising dread as I asked, “When would he be coming?”Sophie barely looked up, casually brushing flour off her hands. “In four days, I think.”Four days.The words echoed, detonated in my skull like a bomb. I nodded slowly, numbly, as if that information hadn’t just shattered the ground beneath me.“I’ll miss you guys too,” I said softly, my voice layered with a fragile sweetness I didn’t feel. I looked down at the dough, kneading it like my life didn’t depend on getting out of this place before that deadline. Four days.If I was moved to Lucas’s penthouse—his real lair, the fortress where he ruled behind marble walls and impenetrable security—then I was finished. There would be no doors accidentally left unlocked. No casual staff leaving phones lying around. Cameras watching my every move. No freedom.No hope.We finished the baking, the kitchen humming with warmth and the scent of sugar and vanilla. The pastries came out gol

Arabella Where was the third guard? I wondered. And suddenly I heard a low grunt, and my heart plummeted.No. Please no.It had to be him, the last security guard.Was he awake? Had he heard me?I dove to the floor hiding behind a plant, my breath trapped in my throat. The cold concrete bit into my knees as I waited in absolute stillness, heart pounding madly against my ribcage like a warring drum.This was it, I'd be caught. I wouldn’t make it.I’d come all this way for nothing. I squatted there holding back tears. I closed my eyes for a moment waiting for when I'd be discovered. Seconds passed. Then a full minute. Nothing.No footsteps, only my madly beating heart.Swallowing hard, I crawled out from the shadows, inching forward slowly. There was no one in sight. I walked on looking for the last guard and then I found him at the gate house. There he was.Slouched over a table, completely out cold.I released a shaky breath, relief flooding through me.That’s when I saw it.A c