I move away from the balcony, heading back into my room. I shut the sliding door, the rain pattering on the roof.
Being lusted after by a man isn’t a compliment. But with Valerian, it feels like one. My heart jumps every time I think about sex with him. Even now, I’m still picturing us in bed together, naked. With the storm and everything, it would be a great to hide away in his room for a few hours and forget about reality.
But we can’t afford to do that. Valerian has his son to get under control, and I have a life to start living.
My heart pulls every time I unexpectedly see him around the house. Feeling the blood rush to my face is riveting, because I never get that way around people.
Valerian is a man with a code who would rather have his own son hate him than tell the guy the truth. And that interests me.
He’s full of surprises and has more layers than what meets the eye. You see a ruthless killer and draw your conclusions without considering how he got to this point.
There’s still a human underneath. But it’s not enough for me. He won’t open up to me unless he has to, and he should want to do that.
I know better than to get involved.
I rise from the bed, stretching out. I walk back to the window, checking out the guards. There are two stationed at each side gate. The blood from the previous guards has been washed away now by the rain, like nothing even happened.
My stomach turns. I swallow the uneasy feeling and start getting some of my belongings together. But the nausea gets worse.
I perch on the edge of the bed for a second, collecting myself. Sweat beads across my forehead. I wipe it away, gasping, holdingonto the edge of the mattress until the dizzy spell ends. My period still hasn’t come yet.
Should I be worried?
The rain is still coming down heavily. I glance at the time on the wall, noting that the guards will be changing over soon. My time to leave is now. I have to go before I lose any more willpower. Being here, I’ve already lost a lot of it, my independence slipping more each day, becoming less and less like my father’s attention for me when I was young. Soon I’ll be left with nothing.
It’s now or never.
I glance outside, taking note of the guards. The guns lodged under their arms look very terrifying. One bullet has the power to obliterate me, so I’ll have to escape in the right way.
But there’s a way I can get out of here in one piece.
I head into the bathroom, grab a washcloth and shove it in my pockets. I’m wearing black sweatpants and a matching sweatshirt. Nothing exciting. But the duller, the better. I don’t want to wear color and be seen.
I creep down the marble staircase, taking each step at a time, on the lookout for movement. I don’t know where Valerian is—probably suit shopping again. But I can’t take any risks.
I was lucky to get off the hook last time with the punishment. This time, I may not be so lucky. Left hanging on the verge of climax is fucking cruel. I only like being chained to Valerian’s bed if I’m getting something out of it.
I make it down into the lobby. There’s so much space. And everything is so quiet. It’s hard to believe this place was full of people only a few days ago.
I creep across the lobby, out into the stone passageway. But as I’m walking out into the courtyard, I bump into Galina.
“Miss Joy. Storm is coming. Best to stay indoors.”
I really hate what I’m about to do, but options aren’t exactly flying out of my ears.
“I’m going for a walk through the cloister if you want to join me? I like the smell of nature when it rains.”
“Yes. I like too, Miss Joy.”
“Walk with me?”
Galina nods. “Okay. Five minutes. And then I must do laundry.”
Our footsteps clack on the stone as we walk through the cloister, making our way around. Rain splashes against the stone, a few droplets catching my cheek.
I peer out, seeing puddles forming in the courtyard, filling with more rain. Storms are peaceful. There’s less expectations. People tend to be off guarded more on dull days when the sun isn’t shining.
“I heard about what happened earlier, Miss Joy.” Galina looks at me apprehensively. “Igor killed four guards.”
