of it shattered when his footsteps approached me from behind, a soft thump against a table sounding to my right as Callan came into view. Unable to stop myself from glancing over, I saw that he’d dropped a large black bag on the table before continuing his path to me.
I thought he’d walk in front of me so he could tower over my body and stare down like the master of his obedient pet, but instead he stepped up behind me, hovering for several seconds before crouching down so closely that I could feel his body heat on my back, the whisper of his breath against my hair as he spoke.
“Did you enjoy your breakfast?”
Refusing to show him how much it bothered me, I set the fork on my plate with a quiet click.
“It was excellent, thank you. My compliments to the chef.”
He chuckled, the sound as dark as his voice.
“I’ll let Ellen know you said so.”
A pause, and then, “Are you finished? We have somewhere to go.”
A shiver coursed over my skin. The last time Callan had taken me anywhere, I’d ended up in a room with naked women strapped to torture devices.
Holly’s warnings from yesterday morning rolled through my head. She’d told me the lower levels were bad, but the pit was worse. I still had no idea what that was or what could be going on there that it was less desirable than the dungeon.
“Where are we going?”
Every muscle in my body grew tense waiting for his answer.
“The pit.”
Spinning to look at him, the air rushed from my lungs when our faces came so close our mouths almost touched. The spicy scent of him wrapped around me, my eyes dropping down to run across the broad strength of his shoulders before creeping up again.
There was no humor in his face, the sharp line of his jaw and gold-flecked whiskey color of his eyes drawing me in like a moth to a flame. This man would burn me alive if I let him, yet he tugged at me in ways I couldn’t quite understand.
“What have I done to deserve that?”
Hating the genuine fear I could hear in my voice, I refused to move away from him as his dangerous energy consumed the space around us.
Callan’s brows tugged together with confusion for only a second. Why, I didn’t know. But then his typical blank expression slammed back in place as he gained control of himself.
“You’ll go where I tell you. That’s what servants do. Now get the fuck up from the floor and follow me without question.”
He stood, turned to walk to the table and shouldered the strap of the bag. Meanwhile, I pushed up from the floor, set my plate on another table and did my best to follow behind.
It was next to impossible to keep up with his predatory stride, his legs much longer, so that for each step he took, I had to race to take five.
Recognizing that he was leading me to the entryway of the house, I was out of breath when we finally stepped into the foyer, the guard at the door nodding his head as we approached.
“Callan,” he said simply, his voice a deep rumble.
Opening the door, he kept his dark eyes on me as Callan passed him, and I took a second to note that every guard in this place was almost the size of Callan, their shoulders fighting the seams of the jackets they wore, their expressions stern and bloodthirsty.
A shock to my system after the past three days spent inside, I appreciated the warmth of sunlight on my skin as I was led across the large porch and down the rounded stairs, a black SUV waiting at the base, which Callan rounded to climb in the driver’s seat.
For a moment, I considered making a run for it, but I knew I wouldn’t get far before he caught me.
Obediently, I climbed into the front passenger seat and pulled on my seatbelt, my nerves tingling with apprehension as to where I was being taken.
I knew better than to ask questions, so instead, I stared out the window to watch the lush rose gardens pass by as Callan drove us to the front gates.
Stopping long enough to allow the gates to silently slide open, he punched the gas again, the car lurching forward with such speed that my body was thrown back against my seat.
Everything he did was on the offense, his driving as well, apparently. Yet even with the crushing speed,