Where is he?
Pacing across the room, my thin nightgown flows about my ankles. Sleep fights with me, my anxiety too high to rest. I need to hear news about my father to calm my racing heart. Especially since I expected Avrum back by now.
My stomach lurches. Maybe he hadn’t gone to see my father at all. Maybe he’d been stopped and his motives found out by Henri… Something could’ve gone wrong.
No. I can’t let myself think like that.
The lock of the door clicks.
Avrum.
A smile lifts my lips. Eager to see him again, I hurry for the door, but when it opens, I’m not faced with Avrum. But with Henri.
I freeze.
He’s dressed in a burgundy jacket, a beige vest buttoned down his front, with a silk taupe necktie tucked neatly into it. His dark hair frames his stoic face, curling up at his padded shoulders. As he strides over to me, he spins the key to my room around his finger.
Every muscle in my body tenses.
“Haven, my love.” His silken voice wraps around me like a poisonous serpent. “I’ve come to set you free.”
“S-Set me free?” I repeat. I don’t like the sound of that. Or the way he’s watching me like a predator.
He smirks, and I want nothing more than to slap that grin off his face. My hands twitch at my sides. My hatred flows through my veins as naturally as my own blood.
Speaking of, it has been two nights since he’d fed from me, and I need to keep it that way. And that means not getting him angry.
I fight to keep my voice full of innocence. “What do you mean?”
His black brows rise in interest. “It’s been too quiet without you, and although I knew I must stay true to my word, I have missed your company.”
I say nothing. It’s safer that way.
Henri continues, “I hope you’ve thought about your mistakes and have learned your lesson.”
Sharp pain shoots from my jaw to me temples from grinding my teeth. “I have—”
That makes a smile curl across his lips. His long, ringed fingers stroke the top of my head. Like a pet.
I hold my breath as he combs through my long mass of curls, then grips a handful at the nape of my neck and holds on tight.
“It seems Avrum is quite talented,” he whispers, and just the sound of his name causes my pulse to kick up a notch. “He’s been able to improve your attitude.”
Chuckling, he uses his fist tangled in my hair to tug my head back. His mouth crashes onto mine hard, his tongue pushing past my lips without warning. I try to remain still and not fight, but my head is screaming for him to let me go.
He growls into my mouth, while I don’t move, don’t fight, allowing him to have complete control. This kiss is nothing like the one I shared with Avrum. It is too forceful and repulsive.
Finally, he steps away from me.
“Join me for dinner tonight,” he tells me. “Just you and me.”
I’m trembling all over as I touch my wet, swollen lips. Why does everything he does hurt me so much?
Turning, he gives me an approving once-over and heads to leave. “Donotkeep me waiting,” he says at the door before slamming it behind him. The candle beside my bed extinguishes, and I’m left in complete darkness once again.
Chapter 11
Avrum
