a parallel life. That I experience things very few other people can understand. And the worst part is, I prefer that strange place. It scares other people, but I love it. It’s happened to me for as long as I can remember.”
Those grey eyes are locked on my face, so many thoughts swirling behind them. But then his lips curl, and I think for a fraction of a second that he’ll smile, that I’ll finally see what his stern face looks like when it softens.
“You’re fucking crazy.”
Anger surges through me at the comment. At the laughter in his voice when he said it.
“Fuck you.”
Shaking his head, he tips his head back, and his lips stretch wider, the smile almost there. So close. Inwardly, I’m begging for it despite what he just said to me.
“Don’t feel bad about it, Adeline. I have a thing for crazy. It’s what’s doomed you since the beginning.”
His expression snaps back to the usual blank mask, grey eyes catching mine when he pulls his head forward and stares at me like I’m someone he’s known his entire life.
“I’m letting you out of the room today.”
Ari stabs the cigarette out in an ashtray sitting beside him, his body unmoving from where he sits against the wall. He’s so focused on what he’s doing that I take a moment to study his profile, to run my eyes down the strong line of his jaw.
Dark stubble peppers his skin, his hair disheveled as if he just crawled out of bed.
He’s beautiful, this man, even for as much of an asshole as he is.
Surprise fills my voice, “You’re letting me go?”
A shake of his head, his hair falling forward over his forehead. “No. I’m just letting you out of the room.”
For such a small thing, his demeanor is guarded, his shoulders tense. I guess this is a step in the right direction, but his behavior is unsettling.
Pushing to his feet, he walks to the door and glances at me, something unsaid behind those clear grey eyes. “Get dressed and come out when you’re ready.”
I push up to a sitting position, the sheet sliding down to pool at my waist. Ari’s eyes follow the material as it falls, hovering there at my hips before lifting again.
“Why do I get the feeling I don’t want to leave this room?”
He’s scaring me for a reason I can’t understand, the hair on my arms lifting, goose bumps prickling across my skin.
“Because you don’t,” is all he says before walking out of the room. Except rather than shutting the door, he leaves it open, a hallway stretching out in front of it, light streaming through from another doorway to the right.
I watch Ari turn the corner, listen to his footsteps retreat.
Silence descends, and I hesitate before pulling the sheet from my legs to crawl from bed and go in the bathroom.
After taking a shower and getting dressed in the clothes that mysteriously appear on the counter near the sink, I take a deep breath and prepare myself for whatever it is he has waiting for me.
How bad can it be?
It’s probably best not to ask that question. I know nothing about this man except the fact that he likes to play games regardless of how they destroy me.
Fuck. I don’t even know his real name or where I am.
My legs are unsteady as I creep down the hallway on bare feet, the long t-shirt he gave me fluttering at my thighs. As usual, the jerk didn’t give me pants to wear, but the shirt covers enough not to feel completely exposed.
Reaching the doorway where the light pours through, I close my eyes and suck in a breath, my hand sliding against the wall as I turn the corner and force my eyes open.
The first thing I notice is a large wall of windows looking out over the city, Ari’s large form leaning back against it, his arms crossed over his chest and one ankle crossed over the other.
He doesn’t turn to look at me, just stares straight ahead. He appears so vulnerable at that moment, stripped bare. The usual darkness that clings to him gone as if he’s stepped out from where he usually hides to reveal the man he is.
And then I notice the gleam of sunlight over a black grand piano, my eyes scanning deeper into the room to see he lives in a penthouse that must cost a fortune.
Sunlight bathes the dark wood floors, shines brightly against built in bookshelves on a