Chapter 40 : Rosella...

Heart pounding in my chest, I wait with held breaths as Adrian finishes his information exchange with Lucas. I snap my gaze back to my plate as he turns off his phone and probably slips it into his slacks.

I fiddle with the cutlery, desperately trying to hide the fresh surge of nervousness that overtook my body as soon as I asked him to take me his way not an hour ago. He agreed to my deal, but on his terms. That left me feeling terribly inadequate about my decision and groping in the dark for any understanding of what I just walked into.

When it comes to sex, especially with a twist of pain, I feel lost, confused and petrified. I don't know what to expect. How far this can go. More precisely, how far he can take me into his depraved mind.

I have to keep reminding myself that this is about earning trust and reassuring minds. I've given him a chance to resettle my heart in his palm, before it spins out of his reach and he loses the flimsy, fragile thing forever.

“You done?” His voice surprises me from right behind me.

I give him a sharp nod. “Yup.” Sliding my chair back, I stand up and inhale a deep breath. Flashing him a tight smile, I hold out my hand for him to take. “Shall we?”

He stares at my hand weirdly then shakes his head. An unfathomable emotion glows in his eyes as he offers me a wry smile and swirls his finger in a circle. “Turn around.”

“What? Why—” I stop short when his eyebrows quirk up in challenge, daring me to finish my question that I had promised to hold back and trust him.

*Shit, this is going to be tough.*

Swallowing my nerves, I keep up my part of the deal and give him my back without any inquisition. *What does he plan to do now?* I hate not knowing what's going on in his head.

“You have no idea how pleased I am with you right now. You being such a good girl,” he whispers in my ear, his hot breath ruffling my hair, “it makes me hard, Pearl.”

I barely manage to conceal my whole body shiver when his touch lands on my eyes. No, not his touch. A touch of silk, around my head, closing off the world and shoving me headfirst into palpable blankness.

“Adrian…” I curse my meek voice and accelerating heartbeat. My hands ball up, resisting the urge to remove the silky blindfold immediately. *He never blindfolded me before… Why now?*

He takes his time, tying its two ends before responding to my plea. “Yes, Pearl? You were saying something.”

“I…” I trail off as he grabs my waist and turns me back around, probably to face him. I tilt my head up, then side to side, seeking for the sound of his breath to make sure he's still here when his hands disappear from my waist.

“Go ahead, say it, Pearl. Say it and ruin this again.” His steely voice reaches my right ear first and I snap my head in that direction, breathing heavily. “I know you like to do that.”

“I never did it on purpose before,” I mumble, dropping my head as embarrassment warms my skin, “and no matter what happens, I won't do that again. I want to trust you and I want you to trust me back. That's all I wanted to say.”

“Liar.” I cringe but relax when I hear his soft chuckles. “Come on.”

*Isn't he going to be an asshole about that?*

Snatching my hand, he leads me… somewhere. Probably out of the dining room. I keep pace with him and grab his wrist with my other hand as I stumble behind him blindly, completely dependent on him to not make me trip and fall.

My other senses stand out in alert, picking up every other thing that I could not see. Like the sudden drop in temperature when we take a bend and come to halt after stalking for a few feet. My hand slides up Adrian's wrist as I seek his body heat and press against his side with a shudder.

“Be careful now. We are going to climb down some stairs.” Adrian warns me before I hear the doors open. A gust of cool, dank air smacks the side of my body, making me fold myself tighter around him.

Down. Not up.

*Oh shit.*

“Okay.” My fear and anticipation keeps building as I follow Adrian, testing every step I take until on the fourth one the ground drops out under the sole of my foot.

“Hold on and keep going.”

I nod my head and slowly begin the descent. It takes forever to reach the bottom. But when I hear the loud groan of another set of doors opening, all my tiredness flees my head.

Alert again, my fingers tighten around his hand when goosebumps break out on my skin from the biting chill in the air. The dank heaviness makes it hard for me to breathe through my nose, so I breathe through my mouth as best as I can.

Letting go of Adrian, I rub my hands over my sleeves and silently thank god for the sweater. “Why is it so cold down here?”

“It hasn't been lived in for a while now. They must have cut off the entire connection before leaving. Stay right here. I'll just go — Uff!” A loud thump breaks off his sentence as something heavy hits the ground.

“Huh! What is it?” I twist my head on the spot, unable to even blink.

“Nothing. I'll be right back. Don't move. It's too dark. I can't see shit.” I hear his scuffle as he moves further away from me, leaving me standing alone.

The flicking sound of a switch turning on touches my senses and a quiet whir fills the empty space, stirring the dank air as warmth begins to seep in from the cold floor. I wiggle my toes on the soft carpet and wait for Adrian.

“You know where we are, don't you?” I jerk in surprise when his low voice reaches from behind, followed by the length of his body pressing against my back, chasing the chills away.

“I do. We are in the basement. Living room, right? I remember the feel of the rug under my feet.” I say, leaning back into him a little.

“Your memory is good.”

“Hey!” I squeak in surprise when he swings me up in his arms and begins to walk again.

“You must remember the tunnels as well and the room at the end of it.”

“I do.”

“Very well. You still think you can behave?”

“Haven't I been doing that for a while now? Why is it so hard for you to trust me?”

“Believe me. I've tried before, but you did a better job of breaking that trust than acting on it.”

“I'm sorry.”

We lapse into silence, weighted by past regrets and lost time. Gratitude fills my chest as I settle deeper into his arms. He's still here with me, even after I broke his heart so thoughtlessly. But it could've been worse right? I could have run away, or attacked him in self defense. Not that I would have been able to land any blows. It would have been worse for him if I made him my mortal enemy.

“We're here.” Adrian announces before lowering my feet to the ground.

“Can I take it off now?” I ask, hesitantly reaching for the blindfold.

“Not a chance.” He snatches my hand before I can reach my destination.

I frown at the note of amusement entwined with his tone. It unsettles something deep inside me, making my mind churn with unease. It may have been stupid of me to give him the permission to go all out. I really hope he's not planning to act on it.

“Alright. What should I do then?” I ask, entwining my fingers so that I don't reach for the blindfold again.

“Ask me anything you want while I set up the room for us.”

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

I exhale loudly and voice the question that I never even thought I'd get to ask before now. “Do you really take sexual gratification in hurting women?”