The Boss (Chateau #3) - Penelope Sky Page 0,6

statue. He was stony, still, solid.

I just wanted him to leave. Please leave…

He rose to his feet and moved to the fireplace.

I flinched at his movement and immediately scooted away, pushing the tray out of the way so I could fill the space it had once been in.

He stilled and looked at me.

I breathed hard, afraid of the repercussions.

His stony expression didn’t change. It never seemed to change. It was impossible to gauge the thoughts of a statue, something lifeless, something created with knives and sharp tools. He continued his movements and grabbed the lighter sitting on top of the fireplace. He bent down, piled the wood into the hearth, lit it on fire, and then stepped back.

The flames came alive and immediately filled the cabin with warmth, lighting up the darkness and chasing away the shadows…except his shadow.

He returned to his armchair and took a seat once more.

The staring continued.

My eyes remained on the floor, waiting for the assault to begin.

It never came.

Thirty minutes of silence passed, my food got cold, and his eyes never strayed from my face.

I cleared my throat and forced myself to speak. “What do you want?” I kept the blanket bundled around me even though I was actually too warm from the fire. But I held on to it like a life raft in the middle of the ocean.

“You to eat.”

My eyes returned to his. “Please…leave me alone.”

“I said I wouldn’t hurt you.”

“But that doesn’t mean you won’t—” I couldn’t even bring myself to say that disgusting, grotesque word. A word that should be eliminated from society because the act had been eradicated. It should be like smallpox, something that had been wiped from the face of the earth, so it wasn’t even discussed anymore.

His brown eyes were the same color as the cabins, a dark, earthy color, with gentle flecks of different colors, like gold, amber, and other subtle hues that could be found in the forest. But the intensity of his gaze was not from this world, but deep below…in a place where he would return when his time on this earth expired. “I want you.” Every word that came out of his mouth was deliberate and simple. He spoke plainly, but very little. “But that’s not the way I want to have you.”

Every muscle in my body relaxed a little, holding on to his words like he’d just pardoned me from an execution. I clung to those words, felt the air slowly leave my lungs, felt my eyes close for a brief moment as the relief I felt entered every single inch of my face. My reaction was uncontrollable, and I could feel the hint of moisture that rose from my throat and entered my eyes. I looked at him again and almost thanked him…but I didn’t because I shouldn’t have to.

He held my gaze for only a few seconds before it was gone. He then shifted his gaze to the fire. It was the first time he broke contact first, the first time he severed that connection. “Eat.”

Three

Negotiate

Melanie

Raven was getting worse.

With every passing day, she grew weaker.

She struggled to carry the boxes to the table, starved until she turned white and weak, a translucent ghost.

And there was nothing I could do.

I was in my cabin, sitting in the dark and the cold, knowing the boss would visit me once more. He didn’t come yesterday or the day before. My food was brought by a faceless guard, and I shivered through the night because I still didn’t know how to make a fire. When I tried, I couldn’t get the flames to stick to the wood, not the way he could or the other girls in my old cabin had.

I knew when he arrived before the door even opened.

There were several sets of footsteps. They thudded against the wooden beams as they approached. The door was open, the tray was served, and then the guard took his post outside my room.

The boss entered, making the same quiet but powerful entrance as with any time he stepped into the vicinity of other people. His eyes went to the fire first, then shifted to me. He didn’t sink into his armchair.

The door shut behind him.

After several long seconds, he spoke. “Why do you not use the fireplace?”

I was a little less scared of him, so I spoke. “I…I don’t know how.” I was still in my work clothes because they were a lot warmer than my lounge clothes, and they were warm on