She sees me. She sees the dirt on my clothes. She sees the red stain on my hands.
She doesn't scream.
Her eyes drop to the blood, then back to my face. She searches my expression.
"Did you find him?" she whispers.
I walk to the bed. I stand over her. The smell of copper and pine clings to me.
"Yes," I say.
"Is he...?"
"He won't watch you again."
She lets out a shuddering breath. Relief? Horror? Maybe both.
"Unlock me," she says, tugging at the chain. "Please, Silas. You’re back. I’m safe. Unlock me."
I look at her wrist. The skin is slightly red where she pulled against the metal.
I look at her face. Beautiful. Trapped.
I reach into my pocket for the key.
But I don't pull it out.
Not yet.
The sight of her bound to my bed, waiting for me, her life completely in my hands... it triggers something primal in me. Something darker than the violence I just committed.
I crawl onto the bed.
"Silas?" Her voice trembles. She sees the look in my eyes.
"You look beautiful like this," I murmur, looming over her. "Waiting for your master."
"I’m not a dog," she snaps, though her voice lacks heat. She’s staring at my bloody hands.
I reach out and run a finger down her cheek, leaving a faint streak of the dead man’s blood on her skin. A war paint. A claim.
"No," I agree. "You’re a queen. But even queens need to be protected from themselves."
I lean in, my mouth hovering inches from hers.
"I’m not going to unlock you, Ivy."
"What?" Panic flares in her eyes. "But you said... you said when you got back..."
"I lied."
I kiss her throat.
"I’m going to take a shower. I’m going to wash this blood off. And then..."
I bite the sensitive skin where her neck meets her shoulder.
"...then I’m coming back to bed. And you are going to be right here, exactly where I want you."
