Her eyes brighten. “Oh, yes.” She lifts the hem of her dress and points proudly to a scar on the back of her thigh. “Easy to get carried away, isn’t it?” She winks, and I smile and nod because I don’t know what else to do. She lets out an easy laugh and gestures behind her. “Go back through the ladies’ quarters, to the spa. You’ll find some extras stored in the supply cabinets.”
“Thanks.”
Leaving them in the lobby, I make my way back to the endless halls, but I have no intention of returning to the ladies’ quarters until I see what’s on the second floor, besides Raife’s office. I reach the staircase and lift my foot when a cracked door a few rooms down catches my eye. Chewing on the inside of my cheek, I contemplate. It’s possible someone is in that room, which is why the door was left slightly ajar. If that’s the case, I could be sent back to my bedroom before I find out what else is upstairs.
Then again, there’s a chance no one’s there. It’s not often a room is left open in this house, and with my luck, all I’ll find upstairs are locked doors.
Decision made, I turn and head toward it. When I reach the room and hear only silence, I nudge the door open with my elbow and the pitch-black entrance envelopes me.
A scream catches in my throat when my next footstep swipes through the empty air, and I go tumbling forward. My full weight crashes into something solid. Large hands lock around my waist, and I’m lifted off the ground. Finally I can see again when I’m back in the hallway and released so I’m standing on my own two feet. A burst of air rushes from my lungs, and I look up to see who caught me.
“Lost?” Adam’s voice is low, calm, as usual, but his eyes are a full blown midnight storm when I meet his gaze. My attention wanders on its own when I take in the tension coiled in his stiff shoulders, his tousled hair reminding me of when I ran my hands through it.
A tremor rolls between my thighs, and I swallow. Hard.
“Sorry. I was looking for the, um”—I point awkwardly at my foot—“for a bandage.”
His gaze flicks down. Then he drags it up my bare legs, past the edge of my skimpy nighty, and lets it drift up my curves before landing on my lips. “In the basement,” he says dryly.
The basement?My eyes narrow on the now-closed door behind Adam. Of course. That isn’t a room; it’s a staircase. I return my attention to his and almost shrink back at his dark expression. “I was trying to find the spa.”
A muscle ticks beneath his stubble. “Of course you were.”
Warm fingers grip my scarf, and I gasp as I’m tugged forward. I trot behind Adam’s long footsteps, my heart thumping against my ribcage as I trip over my own feet, up the stairs and down another hallway.
“Wh—where are you taki—”
He storms inside another room with me at his heels. Stopping once we reach the desk, he pushes a button on the phone but doesn’t release my scarf. The heat of his skin sears my neck, and I inhale a sharp breath.
“Yes, Mr. Matthews?” Stella’s voice rings through the speaker.
“Bring me a black scarf. Then have Emmy’s things moved to my room.”
All the air is sucked from my lungs.What did he just say?
“But, sir, our guidelines state that all secretaries are to room in the ladies’ quar—”
“The guidelines just changed. Now bring me her scarf.”
There’s a pause, then, “Right away.”
The line goes dead, and Adam finally releases me, but he doesn’t look at me. He turns away and swipes his palm over his mouth, then yanks the collar around his neck until it opens up. I watch as he takes a breath, the muscles in his back and shoulders tensing, then he slowly exhales and faces me.
He dips his hands in his pockets and sits back against the desk, watching me closely. “From now on, you’ll go where I tell you to go. You’ll report to me and only me. You’ll address me however you want, I don’t fucking care, but you do not, under any circumstance, call me Master.” Something flashes in his eyes, and my breath shortens with the beat of my heart. “Do you understand?”
My throat goes dry. I wet my lips with my tongue and nod. “I understand.”
I wish my voice was strong, but it’s just as weak as the rest of me.
If there ever was a time not to be fragile, this is it.
