Will I be able to sneak out of his house?My heart raced at the thought.
We finished eating dinner together five hours ago. Ever since then, I retreated to my room and hadn’t left. It was almost eleven-thirty p.m., and I knew Seth wouldn’t be asleep. What concerned me was that Nikolai was going to have someone down the street at midnight to pick me up. If Seth’s guys were outside, they would surely notice a car driving by. The whole situation was impossible from the get-go; Nikolai had to know that. He was probably testing me to see how far I’d go.
I tiptoed over to the bedroom door and carefully opened it. The hallway was dark, and there was no light from the floor below. I slowly crept down the stairs and saw Stefan through the window patrolling past the pool. I probably wouldn’t have seen him if it weren’t for his lit cigarette. Going out the back door wouldn’t have been an option anyway.
There was only one way out that could work, and I wasn’t looking forward to trying it. Stefan’s attention averted to me, and I pretended I didn’t see him as I entered the kitchen. I grabbed a bottle of water from the refrigerator and returned to my room, shutting the door behind me.
When I looked at the windows, I groaned. Scaling the side of the house wasn’t on my to-do list for the night, but it wouldn’t be that hard, not with how Seth’s house was built.
Ensuring all the lights were off in my room, I pulled back the curtains. Slowly, I opened the window, gently unlatched the screen, and set it on the floor. The wind blew through my hair and I breathed in the cool, desert air.
Just outside the window was a ledge that wrapped around the entire second floor of the house. I could thank today’s fancy modern architecture for that.
Once out the window, I peered around at the grounds below. Three of Seth’s men walked around, but no one was by the cactus garden. It wasn’t that far of a drop from the second floor, but I would have one hell of a prickly night if I slipped and fell the wrong way.
I sat down on the ledge and inched my way off, gripping the edge so my body faced the house. This left me with about a four-foot drop to the ground. I let go and landed on my feet, holding my breath as I waited for an alarm to go off. When nothing did, I blew out a sigh and started toward the edge of the yard.
Was it seriously going to be that easy to sneak out?
“Where do you think you’re going?”
My heart clambered up my throat, thumping wildly. It was Seth.
“I wasn’t going anywhere,” I said, facing him.
I could see Seth’s silhouette veiled in darkness. He stepped forward, the moonlight shining across his face. There was no smile, no trace of the Seth I’d gotten to know the past few days. What I saw was disappointment and anger. His gaze narrowed and he flung out his arms out to the side.
“It doesn’t look like you weren’t going anywhere.”
I didn’t like the pain in his eyes. When I decided to try and sneak out, it wasn’t to hurt him.
“I wanted to see how guarded I was,” I confessed with a shrug. “Now I know.”
Stefan appeared around the side of the house and backed away just as quickly when he saw me with Seth.
Seth’s expression softened as he stepped forward. “You’re not a prisoner, Wren. But I told you when you came here, I don’t want you sneaking out.” He closed the distance between us and sighed. “Were you really trying to leave?”
I shook my head. “No. I was curious to see how far you’d go to protect me. Honestly, I knew I wouldn’t be able to leave.”
Seth winced as if I’d slapped him. “I don’t want you feeling that way, Wren. No one should feel trapped. I would let you leave if you wanted to.”
“Would you?” I asked.
He nodded, but something in his eyes made me tremble; it was primal. “Yes, but I wouldn’t like it,” he replied.
I stared into his eyes, frozen in place as he moved closer, our bodies almost touching.
“Why?”
Seth’s lips tilted into a devilish smirk, and he kissed me, his lips warm against mine. “Because I like having you with me,” he murmured, kissing me again.
I melted against him and gave in to the feelings overwhelming me. I was never the type to need or want a man to protect me, but I was starting to understand why Kali loved how Valentin was with her. He wanted to keep her safe, to protect her. And why? Because he loved her. I’ve never had anyone love me like that. I never thought I needed it . . . but I craved it more than anything.
I tried to deepen the kiss, but Seth gently pulled away, his serious gaze searching mine. Something about the moonlight beaming across his face made me want him even more.
“What’s wrong?” I wondered.
He released a heavy sigh. “I was giving you some time before bringing this up.” My stomach dropped because I knew what he was about to say.
