You were running
MARIA
“What the fuck?”
More accurate words could not have been uttered in that moment, because seriously, what the fuck?
Maria wasn’t sure what just happened. One moment she’d been running out of the house, her escape plan going surprisingly well without any interruptions, when suddenly, she’d felt arms around her and before she could even process what was happening or found the strength to struggle, she’d found herself being dropped unceremoniously on the floor in the living room.
Had one of the guards seen her after all?
She’d looked through the window, searched very well before finally making up her mind to make a run for it when she’d found the grounds empty, without a single guard.
She hadn’t focused on the fact that it was odd that there were no guards; she’d simply taken her chance.
Well, if she was going to dwell on odd things, then she would ponder on why Corey had left the house last night, hadn’t returned, then only for the vampire to leave the house too, but no, she wasn’t going to.
Bracing her hands on the floor, she pushed herself up, eyes searching for the person that had effortlessly put a stop to her escape.
She froze when she saw the man’s familiar towering frame, broad shoulders barely covered by a short sleeved polo shirt, and dark hair that brushed his neck.
He had his back to her so she couldn’t see the expression on his face, but she could bet her ass it was anger.
“Where the hell did you come from?” She asked his back, disbelief clear in her voice. “I could have sworn you weren’t in the house two minutes ago…” She trailed off when he turned and angry green eyes stared back at her.
But that wasn’t the only thing that caught her attention.
Smoke rose from his hands and the distinct odour of burnt flesh reached her nostrils. Her stomach roiled when she realised that his hands were burnt in several places. There was also a hole in the front of his shirt where the skin on his chest had burned.
Vampire…
Sun…
He’d been burned.
The sun was bright out and shinning with a vengeance. Why would he even dream of going outside at a time like this without a cover up?
Simple; Maria had been escaping, and catching her and bringing her back to her gilded cage was more important than keeping himself safe.
“What the fuck did you just try to do?” He seemed to force the words out, as though he was too angry to speak.
Swallowing, she said, “Escape.”
She was probably digging her grave by talking back at him and making him angrier but Maria too, was angry. Actually, she was torn between being angry and being scared for her life right now, but her anger finally won out and she wiped the dust off her ass, standing tall.
He took one menacing step towards her and she lifted her chin, undeterred. His eyes blazed with fire and his jaw was clenched so tight, she genuinely worried that his teeth were going to shatter.
“You were running,” he repeated her words like he was trying to make sense of them. As though she’d spoken in another language and not English.Content (C) Nôv/elDra/ma.Org.
“Isn’t that what it looked like?” She snapped.
His eyes widened slightly, like he hadn’t been expecting that little burst of anger and from the way his tall form coiled tighter, from the way his shoulders tensed even more and he fisted his hands at his sides, she knew that she was definitely playing with fire, and when she got burnt, it was going to leave ugly scars.
“What did I tell you would happen if you ever tried to run again?” He took another step and this one had him standing in front of Maria finally.
Toe-to-toe, greys on greens, captive and captor.
They couldn’t have been more wrong, and yet Maria’s breaths were quickening with the promise of danger and the lust crackling in the air, more pronounced now that they were standing next to each other.
Her head was tilted back so that she could hold his eyes and even though she really hated that she had to look up at him like that, she couldn’t deny that it was very hot.
“What did I tell you, Princess?” He asked, his words low and dark, filled with all the evil things he planned to do to her.
She remembered when she’d tried to escape in his castle and he’d told her that if she ever tried something like that again, he was going to kill her.
She remembered clearly. But she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of telling him, nor was she going to give him the satisfaction of acting like she was scared.
His head dipped and his face was just a few inches from hers, spurring her desire and taking her mind back to that kiss. Making her want to kiss him. Making her want him to kiss her.
“Since you’re having a hard time remembering, I’ll gladly refresh your memory.” He murmured low. “I told you that the next time you try to escape, I’ll kill you.” Then a wicked glint entered his eyes and he smirked, “Remember now?”
“Fuck you,” she spat, taking a step back from him, but he caught her by the jaw and pulled her back to the spot where she’d been standing.
His eyes flashed as her insult registered and he scowled hard, all traces of wicked playfulness leaving his lips. “What did you say?”
“Fuck. You.” Maria repeated, the words coming out a bit muffled due to the hand he had on her jaw.
Before her eyes, his eyes flashed black and his hand dropped to her neck right on top of the collar, squeezing hard.
Okay, maybe Maria had taken it a bit too far. The vampire wasn’t a man of many words and when he said he’d do something, she should have known that he would actually do it. She’d thought him telling her that he’d kill her if she ever tried to escape again was him bluffing, but with his hands squeezing the life out of her now, she believed him.