Page 34 of Chandelier Sin
Quickly, I moved in front of them to guard them with my body.
“Want to join us?” He smirked.
“You know you shouldn’t ask me that,” I said firmly.
He wore a smug look, showing he didn’t care.
I blinked at him beneath long lashes. “We’re out of lube. We won’t start until we have some,” I said, hinting I might just play along—and hiding my revulsion.
Disappointment flashed in his eyes. “Where do they keep it?”
I pointed to the adjacent door. “That dungeon.”
Initially suspicious, he reluctantly left to go hunt down the lubricant. He was a walking contradiction—handsome but creepy as hell.
I grabbed their hands and led them toward the mirror.
“Never use this,” I ordered. “You saw nothing.”
With a nudge to the side of the mirror, I opened a door to a stairwell.
“In,” I said sharply, glancing back at the connecting door.
They scurried ahead of me. Once on the other side I closed the door, resting my index finger against my mouth to ensure they remained quiet. A voice or echo of a footstep might carry and give us away.
We removed our high heels and carried them, tiptoeing upward a few floors to put some distance between us and the lower level.
I was glad to get away from that man.
“Why did you say you can’t leave?” I asked, curious.
Elle and Rachel swapped wary glances, and then took off up the staircase, ascending quickly, leaving me behind like I hadn’t just saved them from a monster.
“You’re welcome,” I whispered, half-amused by their response to my question.
I only hoped they would heed my warning about Atticus. Everyone knew that man was trouble.
But I still felt drawn to him, even though I knew I should forget him.
This moment, this hour, these seconds rushing forward into the unknown, left me ever hopeful that today would be different.
The roses were in full bloom at last and it was nice to admire them from here, resting on the edge of the Venetian-style fountain, soothed by the sound of the cascading water behind me.
It was the prettiest thing in this place.
A multitude of sorrows filled my heart.
She’drun barefoot over the grass a thousand times, a child’s laughter bringing joy, making me feel complete for the first time in my life. The memory of her leaving was a crushing agony to bear.
With the sun beating down on my face in this lavish Beverly Glen garden, I could take myself all the way back to those precious summers.
I’d ventured out of my cottage for good reason, my little sanctuary tucked away at the back of the estate.
I was unable to shake the feeling of an evil presence pressingin on me from all sides, as though Aemon were home. As though I could feel his breath on my nape, his plump fingers on my back.
I’d dressed in my Vivienne Westwood ruffle minidress, feeling frivolous for the first time in a long time. Like I, too, should let loose and run barefoot over the lawn—just as Eloise used to do.
The estate’s elaborate landscaping provided a beautiful escape. Though for many who entered the main house, the experience became a haunting reminder of just how cruel the man could be; a lesson they’d never forget.
