Beautiful Moves(Shifting Steel Book 3)(28)

       
           



       

She noticed the gilded ceiling and almost snorted. Ella hated the modern  method some craftsman used when gilding. They applied the metal sheets  so it looked like a series of gold squares, rather than blending them  together like the old masters would. Ella had a theory that it was done  so everyone knew it was real gold, and couldn't mistake it for spray  paint.

Look at me, I'm a pretentious douche. I have a genuine gilded ceiling.

Ella silently distracted herself from her current reality. She had been  desperate to get out of that small room, but now she wanted to go back.  The four gray walls were preferable to being alone with a psychotic  murderer, who was literally part animal.

Drake led Ella past the sunken living room to the master suite, which was just as large and gaudy as the sitting room.

"The bathroom is through that door. You will find clothing hanging up for you. Take all the time you need."

Drake took a seat at a small table near the balcony, and flipped open a laptop, effectively dismissing her.

Ella was desperate to take a shower. She felt gross and grimy. Her skin  itched and her hair was so oily it hung limp. She stood uncomfortably  debating what to do. Ella wasn't thrilled about getting naked anywhere  near Drake, then she remembered his firehose threat. After seeing what  he'd done to Baldy, she believed he'd take a hose a belt to her.

Ella walked through the bathroom door, shut and locked it. She turned  and her jaw dropped. It wasn't the tub that was the size of a small  pool, or the wall-to-wall onyx, that had her stunned. It was the  nineteen-sixties beaded chiffon party dress that hung next to a Louis XV  kidney shaped dressing table, covered in brand new cosmetics.

Ella nervously walked over to the table and examined the items. They  were all appropriate for her skin tone. She looked at the dress with  mounting dread. It didn't have a label indicating the size, but she knew  it would fit her.

"Oh god," she retched, as she backed away from the things that were obviously purchased just for her.

Ella started hyperventilating. It felt like the walls were closing in on  her. She wondered earlier what Drake wanted with her. Well the other  shoe had dropped. The first day, when he pressed her against the wall,  grinding his arousal into her stomach, came rushing back. Ella attempted  to forget the incident, since nothing else had happened. But she  couldn't ignore this. Drake clearly had expectations she was unwilling  to live up to.

One, breathe. Two, breathe. Three, breathe.

Ella tried to force her fear down to a manageable roar. She grabbed a  glass of water with shaky hands, and sat on one of the benches, before  she collapsed.

Her thoughts went to Wolf as they had several times over the last few  days. She'd give anything to have him here. She didn't want him in  harm's way, she just really needed to feel a comforting set of arms  wrapped around her.

Ella wished she'd met Wolf sooner. Their time together had been all too  brief. He was so damn maddening, sexy and funny. He forced Ella out of  her comfort zone, and showed her a bliss she never believed possible.  And she didn't have to hide from him. Then in the span of a few hours  her life turned to shit.

Shut it down, Ella, she scrubbed the tears from her eyes. You'll figure a way out of this mess.

Ella pulled her emotions back into herself and locked them away, like  she had so many times before. She got up stripped and stepped into the  enormous steamy tub.

Ella languished as long as she could in the salon sized bathroom, before  emerging, wearing the couture dress Drake picked out for her. She was  tempted to forgo putting on the thong panties, but some underwear was  better than no underwear. Regardless Ella washed out her trusty Victoria  Secret bikini briefs and stashed them where she hoped they'd dry for  later. How butt floss ever became fashion was a mystery.

Drake glanced up and sniffed the air. He arose from the chair and  stalked forward. Ella stood deathly still as he circled her, wearing an  imperious judgmental expression.

"You did not like the perfume I purchased for you?"

"I don't wear perfume much."

Ella used as little of the overpriced products in the bathroom as she  could get away with. Regardless of their price, they made her feel cheap  and dirty, like Drake was trying to buy her off.

"Good. I think we will get along better than I imagined." Drake leaned  in close to her back as he spoke. "I have a keen sense of smell and much  prefer a female's natural perfume." He took a deep breath at the crook  of her neck. "But I have come to accept that woman like such frivolous  things."

Ella tried her best to not tremble as Drake violated her personal space.  She now wished she bathed in every fragrance in the bathroom. She kept  her eyes straight forward, focusing on the roof of the nearby Venetian  hotel.                       
       
           



       

"Are you familiar with the jewelry maker Ungaro?"

"No."

"No, what?"

"No sir," Ella corrected, while clenching her jaw.

"They have a rather ingenious line of trinkets. I had them make something special for you."

Drake clasped the gold choker around her neck. Ella glanced down to see a  rather impressive amber pendant. Drake stepped in front of her and  admired the necklace.

"I thought it would go nicely with your hair and eyes. I can see that I  was correct. Anyway, this piece isn't just lovely, it's stunning like  the woman whose neck it graces."

Drake pulled out his iPhone and tapped the screen. Ella dropped to her  knees when a surge of electricity coursed through her. She suppressed  the scream bubbling in her throat as she clawed at the necklace.

"Ah, ah, ah. That stays where it is. The little bauble is my guarantee you will mind your manners while we are out."

Ella panted on her hands and knees, trying to regain her composure. Drake was a sadistic inhuman beast.

"As much as I like you in this position, it will have to wait till  later," Drake commented, his crotch a few inches in front of her face.

Ella desperately wanted to punch him in the nuts, but she wasn't willing  to risk getting lit up like a Christmas tree again. She still felt the  pain radiating from her neck down her spine.

Drake tugged her up by her arm, and led her out of the penthouse. They  descended to the lobby and exited the hotel. Tourists cast admiring  stares their direction. Some even took pictures. No doubt she a Drake  looked like a couple straight off the cover of Rich and Famous.

If they only knew.

"Here you are, sir." The valet jumped out of a silver and black sports  car, holding the door open for Ella as he handed the keys to Drake.

Drake couldn't drive a Lamborghini or a Bugatti like normal obscenely  rich men. No, he had a Trevita. Ella would usually assume Drake was  overcompensating for inadequacies in other areas, but unfortunately,  she'd already felt just how big Drake's ego was, when he pressed against  her.

"You will have to get used to the attention." Drake waved at the gawkers  standing on the curb as he pulled away from the Palazzo.

Ella didn't care about them, she was stuck on Drake's comment. Growing  accustomed to overly interested tourists or paparazzi implied she'd be  with Drake for an extended amount of time.

I can't live like this.

"Why? Why are you doing this?" Ella worked to keep the wavering tremble out of her voice.

"You, Miss Roulant are an exceptional creature." His hand drifted to her  knee, but thankfully he removed it again to shift gears. "I have dated  many woman, but none of them have been quite what I'm looking for. I was  prepared to settle for one of my own kind, except the females only  carry Shifter traits, they don't express them. They might as well be run  of the mill humans," he said in disgust. "Plus, the women of my clan  are over-eager sycophants. As the alpha, I need a mate who is more my  equal. Our progeny will be a force to be reckoned with."

Ella was speechless. She assumed Drake wanted to sleep with her and use  her skill, but she hadn't imagined this. The idea that they were  compatible hadn't even occurred to her. Ella couldn't determine what the  hell Drake and his men were. Now he was talking about breeding some  kind of super race.

The worst-case scenario Ella feared, was that Drake would use her, tire  of her, then dispose of her body. But this assured that the nightmare  would live on, in the form of god knows what. She couldn't let this  happen.

"And your idea of wooing me is abduction, forcing me to watch a murder, and shocking the hell out of me?"

"Mind your tone Ella," Drake snarled, baring his fangs.

"I'm sorry. You stated you wanted someone who was your equal. It seems  though, you would prefer someone who is seen but not heard. A beautiful  yet mindless puppet," Ella replied feeling bolder than she ought to.